One Year
by Sincerely Tiffany
Summary: Sequel to Cat and Mouse that follows the first year of Erin and Jay as parents.
1. One Month

Buckled in, leant back in her seat, slowly breathing, and chest rising and falling rhythmically with her daughter's infant hand wrapped around her pinky finger. Snuggled in a pink winter romper and strapped into her car seat, the baby was in a deep snooze; a slumber that resembled her mother as Erin sat in the back seat, beside her daughter. Both mother and daughter sleeping peacefully until the car hits a speedbump and pulls Lindsay from her slumber, "Slow down," she says through gritted teeth; her obvious annoyance laced in her words. She yawned, and turned her body to the side –fully facing her daughter, "She didn't wake up, but drive a little slower."

"I'm already driving under 20 miles per hour," he whispers, eyes focused on the road and both hands steering the wheel.

The car hits another speed bump, irritating the stitches from her surgery weeks ago. Angrily she looks up to glare at him and his eyes meet hers in the reflection of the rearview mirror, "Sorry." This is the first time they've left their home since welcoming baby girl into the world. Both mom and dad had been cooped up in the house for an entire month post-baby. Jay starts work on Monday, and Erin has a few more weeks left of healing before returning. Most of her gained baby weight has shed and the last remaining pounds that seem to be nearly impossible to get rid of should hopefully be lost when she's back at work, when she's back performing the physical aspects of the job. After venturing out into the cold January temperature to take the baby to her first official checkup, they were finally on their way back home. The doctor's appointment was a success; she was weighed and measured, her heart and lungs were good, her eyes, ears, mouth and head were checked and approved, her tear ducts are fully developed, her body, belly, hips and legs were examined and all of it was a painless process, until…until it was time for her to get a shot in her thigh. The poor baby…the poor parents as they were forced to watch and attempt to console their screaming and crying infant. It was nothing they could do but hug, rock and kiss her little cheeks. She cried until she was red in the face. She cried continuously until tears poured out of her eyes and soaked into the shirt of her mother. She cried until she fell asleep.

The parents felt horrible; Jay was wide-eyed, watching in fear as his wife attempted to soothe their inconsolable baby. On and off through the night she usually cries, but they'll either feed, cuddle or change her diaper and she'll be fine, but this time, this time she was beyond the comfort her parents were able to provide. This time they were forced to pass her back and forth between each other and walk her around the small examination room until she was quiet enough to leave the hospital. When the baby was in her daddy's arms, head on his chest, mouth opened wide and screaming, the look in her daughter's eyes pained her mother's heart. Erin had half a mind to hunt that nurse down and give her a shot to show her how it feels. The exhaustion from crying and the fight against sleep was eventually lost by Haven and her parents immediately rushed out of the hospital, buckled her up in her car seat and set their destination for home.

During the slow car ride, the ease of the vehicle sent Erin dozing in and out of sleep. Her daughter's head was tilted to the side, pacifier in mouth and she slept comfortably and warm in the winter romper. The ride was hot, but the heat was on only to counter the cold air outside. Erin has a winter baby whose eyes seemed to light up at the sight of snow. With her daughter's hand still wrapped around her finger, Lindsay felt her eyes begin drifting shut again, finding comfort in the quiet atmosphere, her daughter's heavy sleep and the smooth ride. She learned soon after having the baby that she needed to get as much sleep while the baby was sleeping. Haven's schedule became her schedule. This was little Havie's world and they were all living in it, jumping to their feet at the sound of a cry or a murmur and doing whatever the baby pleased to get her to stop crying. As she falls asleep again, her head tilts to relax uncomfortably against her shoulder; Jay calls out to her, startling her awake, "Jay, what is it?"

"She's too calm and quiet," he comments worriedly, abiding by every traffic law to ensure the ride was as safe as possible, "Is there such a thing as looking too asleep?" At the red light, he takes a glance back at the sleeping infant, "Wake her up, she looks too calm and asleep."

Lindsay floats her finger below the baby's nose, "She's breathing," she unzips her romper, "and her chest is rising and falling normally. She's fine Jay."

With the zipper of her baby's romper down, Erin pulls her little leg out of it. She carefully pulls the Band-Aid back to expose the area she received a shot in, inspecting it for swelling, bruising, redness or a combination of the three. No sign of discoloration or allergic reaction against her white skin. She's fine. Erin gently presses the Band-Aid back down against her daughter's skin before inserting her leg back into the romper, "How is it?" She meets her husband's eyes in the rearview as he worriedly watches her zip the romper back up.

"It looks fine," she answers, zipping the romper to the top, "you worry too much."

Jay laughs, "I worry too much? This is coming from the woman who sterilizes the bottles after I wash them because you want to make sure it's done right."

"No, I do it because I don't want her drinking any germs or bacteria," Erin defended while her hand softly rubs up and down her daughter's tummy as she peacefully sleeps, "And I know you're not talking, for the first week of her life; you were scared to even dress her! And when you did dress her, it took you almost an hour!"

He laughs, "I didn't want to hurt her!"

"She's more resilient than you think."

"I'm starting to notice," he whispers, eyes quickly averting from the rearview mirror to the road.

The silent ride, her husband's smooth driving and her hand rubbing against the cotton of her daughter's romper creates the perfect atmosphere for her to fall asleep –she inevitably drifts off. When the stillness caused by a deep sleep lands upon Erin, her hand stops moving and it rests lazily against her daughter's rising and falling chest. She doesn't know how much time has passed, but the next time she suddenly wakes up, she's in a daze. Her hand is no longer on her daughter's chest, the car seat is empty and the back door is wide open, "What is what's her face doing?" She wipes her eyes to clear her blurred vision. Her sleep deprivation is a pain, causing her to temporarily forget her own baby's name.

" _Haven_ ," Jay emphasized the name, "is fine," he chuckles, holding the sleeping infant against his chest, while using his freehand to unstrap the car seat from the base.

Jay, the ever dotting father, holds sleeping baby in one arm and the car seat in the other as he patiently waits for his wife to get out of the car. Since she's breastfeeding, she has been the one waking up the most in the middle of the night. She undeniably hated the breast pump and only really used it if it was absolutely necessary. Erin is moving slow; she didn't have time to gradually wake up and process the world around her. Her husband and baby were waiting for her to so they could get out of the freezing Chicago winter. She grabs the diaper bag, takes a hold of the keys from her husband, locks the car door and unlocks the entrance to their house. Stepping into the heated house, Erin lets her husband enter first, and she sees her awakened baby's head lying on Jay's shoulder. Her eyes are taking in the world around her, starting with her mother's face. Through her tiredness, Erin manages to make a silly face as she scoops the baby from her husband in order to start discarding the warm romper from her small form, leaving her dressed in a diaper and onesie. Her eyes are taking in everything that's in her immediate proximity, including her dad as he sets the car seat down; her distant vision hasn't yet set in.

With her arm wrapped around the baby's tummy, she heads towards the kitchen, "I would say we should take a nap, but that powernap did me good in the car. And if I go to sleep now, I'm not waking up until tomorrow. Also, we have to be at Atwater's birthday dinner in an hour," she sets the diaper bag down onto the dining room table, "I pumped two bottles before leaving for her doctor's appointment. Could you restock her diaper bag with a few more diapers, burp cloths, and a few extra onesies and bibs? She has enough wipes and there are a few toys in it too."

"Sure," he replies, swiping the diaper bag from the table to take it upstairs.

Erin follows closely behind him; the baby positioned comfortably on her hip as she climbs each stair carefully. She's sucking on her yellow pacifier as her head lay against her mother. They enter the nursery; the same nursery the team put together to surprise her and the same nursery her daughter has yet to sleep in. For the first month of her life, she has been sleeping either in her parents' bed or in the bassinet –most nights, it was in the bed between her parents. Jay opens the diaper bag after setting it down upon the dresser, "I'll pack the diaper bag while you change her. While we get ready, we can probably lay her in the crib or bassinet, or maybe even put her in the swing downstairs. She might do better in the swing since she doesn't seem to be sleepy."

"I'll put her in the swing," Erin responds, laying the infant on the changing table, "I could easily strap her in and put the setting on low," she expertly changes the messy diaper within seconds as she multitasks with talking to her husband, "maybe it we're lucky, she'll fall back asleep."

"Yeah," he grabs a few onesies to stuff into the diaper bag, "she needs at least one more nap in before we drag her into a restaurant full of people."

Erin smirks, stripping the onesie off her baby, "Besides here and the hospital, she hasn't been to many places. The poor baby is going to be in for a surprise." She lifts the baby up and holds her with one arm as her free hand throws the milk-stained onesie into the hamper, "Everyone's going to want to hold her. They'll pass her around like a trophy," she rolls her eyes.

"The germs Erin," his eyes are wide as he mutters the realization.

She nods and repeats, "the germs," her hand pushing through the different outfits hanging in the closet, "they're all going to be holding her, passing her around and kissing her little irresistible cheeks. Oh gosh, my baby is going to be a germ magnet."

"We can always cancel."

Lindsay pulls an outfit from the closet –it's a pair of black leggings and a black and white checkered shirt with a matching headband. She couldn't remember who specifically brought the outfit, but it looked warm enough and comfortable enough for dinner, "We can't cancel. Atwater has been looking forward to this since we agreed to come. The doctor said we can start taking her out of the house and this is a good opportunity to do so. We have to go."

"Fine, you're right," Jay remarks, swiping the bottle of disinfectant from off the top of the dresser, "but I'm bringing the hand sanitizer with us and anyone who wants to hold her has to sanitize their hands first."

She salutes, "Yes sir."

The hour seemed to fly by since most of it was spent dressing the baby, packing her diaper bag and putting her stroller in the trunk of Jay's car. Little time was left for them to get ready. As she silently swung in the swing, an instrumental child's song filling the air as the baby monitor is left on the end table directly beside the swing, her parents use the time they have left to simultaneously get ready. His dinner was in less than an hour. Any tardiness was easily going to be placed on the baby. Any parent would understand. Rushing to get ready while consistently coming downstairs to make sure Haven was still strapped in the swing rocking back and forth was time consuming. They were the stereotypical new parents who worried about absolutely everything Haven related; if she sneezed, they checked her temperature, if she slept too long, they checked her breathing and if she was too quiet, they would peek into the room to see what she was doing. She was still a little underweight, but that's because she has a lot of gaining to do after being born underweight. It was an informal dinner at a restaurant that opened up a few weeks ago. Neither knew who was invited and who was going to show up, but they promised Atwater they would be there with Haven –he really wanted to see the little girl anyway.

"Make sure you turn off all the lights upstairs," Erin hollered out to her husband, placing the diaper bag strap around her shoulder as she carefully walked down each stair, "I'm going to put her bottles in the diaper bag and then put my earrings on and I should be ready to leave."

"Alright," Jay responds, hitting each light before making his way downstairs, "I'm dressed and ready to go. I'll put her coat on and get her strapped into her car seat."

The diaper bag is packed and set by the door. Erin grabs her and Jay's coats and set them near the door. She pulls her earrings out of her jeans pocket and hooks them into her ears. As she slides the snow boots onto her feet, she hears Jay in the living room, "Come here baby," he coos, picking the infant up after unbuckling her, "Hi," he beams fondly, her little legs dangling in the air as he transfers her from the swing to the car seat, "You ready for a night out on the town."

"It's just dinner," Erin laughs, commenting from the hallway.

Jay notices a dimple pierce into one of Haven's cheeks as he tugs a knitted cap on her tiny head, "It's just dinner for us, but it's a night out for her. This is the first time she's venturing out. We'll start at dinner, but we don't know how the night it'll end."

"How it'll end?" Erin repeated, pulling her own coat on and zipping it up, "She's a month old. I don't think it'll end on the wild side."

He pulls the baby's arm through a sleeve, "I'm not saying it'll end with us at a club or anything, I'm just saying, we haven't opened our house up to visitors because of the whole keeping her away from germs thing, so this is everyone's second time actually seeing her since she came into the world, they're going to want to hold onto her for as long as possible."

"I see your point," Erin walks into the living room, "Here's your coat," she tosses it towards him.

The parents switch responsibilities. The baby rests in the car seat with her opened coat and snugged hat on her head. Erin takes over and zips up the child's forest green coat –it matches her own coat, "We're running a little late," she zips the zipper all the way up, "Maybe if we're lucky, she'll take another little nap in the car, it might put her in a good mood for all the attention she's about to get," Erin leaned forward and pecked her daughter's rosy cheeks, resulting in the little girl giving a subconscious side grin. Using her cell to take an adorable photo of the little girl in the car seat, she soon grabs the handle and extends it towards her husband, "Let's go."

While Jay carries the car seat and hooks it into the base, Erin locks the front door. This time she is driving; they've agreed to rotate on who drives and who rides in the backseat. He's buckled in beside the car seat by the time she's in the car, buckled in and starting the ignition. Lindsay looks back as she carefully backs out of the driveway, "What is she doing?" She asks, noticing the smile on Jay's face as he peers down at the loveable face of his daughter.

"She's fighting sleep," he whispers, the back of his finger caressing against the dimple pierced in her cheek. She yawns and her eyes blink rapidly –she's trying everything to fight sleep, but it's a losing battle, especially with her dad gently rubbing against her cheek. The little girl licks her small, pink lips as her eyes flutter open and close; the pressure of sleep will inevitably take over. Jay has an idea that will ensure the baby will drift off to sleep; he digs into the diaper bag and withdraws a bottle, after inserting it into her mouth, sucking noises fill the quiet car. And by the time Erin turns off of their street, the bottle is half empty and the baby is asleep.

During the ride, Jay finds himself occasionally checking the frequency of his baby's breathing. Her underdeveloped lungs made him a worrier and his wife would always remind him that the hospital wouldn't have released her if she wasn't healthy. Her lungs were fine now. Her breathing was good, but Jay still found himself checking just to be on the safe side. She doesn't snore. She doesn't sleep loudly, gurgle or move much when she's asleep; she gives no indication of being alive so in order for him to have a peace of mind, he has to check. He either eyes her chest to watch the rising and falling of her tummy or his finger hovers below her nose to feel for the exhalation of breaths. Whichever it is leaves Jay content and relieved.

Her nap ends up being only thirty minutes long due to rush hour traffic; the average time it takes to get from their house to the restaurant is fifteen minutes, the added cars and aggressive drivers ready to get home from work extended the travel time an extra fifteen minutes. Downtown Chicago was brightly lit and filled with couples, families and tourists. Erin carefully parallel parked on a side street and the second the car comes to a complete stop and is placed in park, a loud wail erupts. Haven enjoys the motion of the car; she enjoys the movement of the car as it glides across the street. It comforts her. It rocks her to sleep. And it seems that once the car is stopped, the keys are out of the ignition and the parents are unbuckled, Haven wakes up and screams out a cry requesting comfort. Erin watched the cars fly pass until a minute of opportunity arose for her to have a safe moment to open her driver's side door and step out, "This is the plan," she talks over her daughter's high-pitched wails, "I'll console the baby and you get her stroller and set that thing up," she directs, watching Jay toy with his daughter's hand.

He nods. He gives in. He tried to console her, but she wouldn't stop crying. Erin gets a moment and takes full advantage of it. She slides out of the driver's side and rushes over to the back seat. Standing on the sidewalk, she opens the door and unstraps her baby from the car seat. By the time Erin safely pulls the one month old from her car seat, Halstead is at the back of the car, maneuvering the stroller from the trunk. He's fumbling with the contraption as she delicately wraps her arms around her baby to flush her daughter up against her chest, "It's okay baby," she coos, but the child continues to scream and cry, "Havie, it's going to be okay," she bounced the infant in her arms until her cries eventually stopped, "It's amazing how something so small has the biggest piece of my heart," she kisses the skin beneath her daughter's eye. She wasn't aiming for it, she wasn't aiming for any particular spot, but wherever her lips landed, she was content. With the baby laid against her chest, head lying upon her shoulder, Erin continued to pat against the infant's back until a small burp sounded, "That was a good one baby." She wasn't crying because the car ride ended; she was crying because she had backed up gas. Normally after feeding they burped her, but Haven's dad had put her down for a nap while feeding her a bottle and the second she woke up, the built up gas that had manifested in her tummy needed to be released. Haven's head lay against her mother's shoulder and Erin uses her free hand lift up the baby's hand to press a kiss against it, "It's getting colder out here Jay."

"Ready," he announces, finally getting the stroller opened. He reaches into the backseat of the car, grabs the diaper bag –which seems to have recently started doubling as Erin's purse- and sets it in the compartment beneath the stroller. With her arms wrapped around her bundled up baby, she presses another kiss against her rosy cheek, "Jay, let's go!"

"I'm behind you," he remarks, nodding for her to start walking.

She holds the baby securely in her arms and begins to carefully walk down the frosted streets. In her peripheral, she can see Jay steering the stroller through the crowd of people. When she approaches the outside of the restaurant door, she smiles at a kind man who held the door open for her and Jay to enter into the family friendly restaurant.

The crowd is live and loud; families are out having dinner and the new parents would be lying if they said the sight of children and teenagers didn't loosen them up. This was their first time going out with Haven and the family atmosphere in the restaurant made them feel less bad about bringing their one month old baby to a restaurant at night. Jay leads now, steering the stroller through the waiting guests and those already seated as they search for the familiar faces of their team. And soon Jay spots the table; it's large and round with the team –minus Voight- sitting around it. Excusing themselves through the crowded restaurant, Kim lays eyes upon them, "Havie!" She's waving them over, calling the name of the one person who cannot respond. Her excitement to see the baby overpowers her enthusiasm in seeing her friends. And as her friends walk closer, she finds herself absolutely ready for the baby; her arms are out and instead of the baby being placed in them, Jay hands her the bottle of hand sanitizer, "And then I want her."

The bottle of hand sanitizer is passed around the table, each person who wants or plans to hold the baby has squirt some into their palms. Halstead parks the stroller between his and Erin's seat, locking the wheels once it's situated. Erin has the baby on one hip, and takes the bottle of hand sanitizer from Atwater once he's done, "Happy Birthday," she leans down and gives him a sideways hug, making sure the baby wasn't caught in the middle.

"Happy Birthday Kev!" Jay hollers from his seat on the other side of the round table.

"Thanks guys," Atwater replies, watching Erin approach her seat.

She sits the baby on her lap, facing her, "Where's Voight?" It's really warm in the restaurant, forcing her to take the hat off the baby and toss it into the stroller.

"He's running a little late, but he's on his way," Olinsky answers, eyes browsing the menu.

With Burgess sitting next to Erin, she turns to reach for the baby, "I'm ready for her!"

"It's my birthday," Atwater reminds, rubbing his hands together as he stands, "I get to hold her first." He extends his arms as Erin walks over with the baby; her jacket unzipped and once she transfers the baby to Kevin's arms, she takes off the rest of her daughter's coat, "She just woke up so she might be a little grumpy," Erin warned, heading back to her seat.

It was a relief and a welcomed break. Everyone wanted to hold Haven giving both mom and dad a break for the time being. Jay didn't seem to mind and neither did she. She retook her seat between Burgess and Halstead, the stroller locked between her and her husband. On the other side of Jay, it's Dawson; he's uninterested in the casual conversation filling the table because he's distracted by Atwater and baby Halstead. She's going to be one loved and adored little girl. Watching her interact with Atwater, even though she's so small and young, he's holding her up by the waist and her feet are standing –with his support- on his legs, and he's making the silliest faces a grown man could form.

"Did you have to work today?"

Atwater looks away from the baby to answer Jay's question, "Nah, Voight gave me the day off."

"What did you do for your day off?" Erin chimes in.

"This morning I went out to breakfast with my brother and sister," he started to answer, eyes gearing back towards the infant as he continued to talk to her mom, "and then afterwards we hit up an arcade, caught a movie and then they sung me happy birthday back at my house, surprised me with cake, ice cream and a gift."

"And what-"

"Alright, my turn," Kim's impatience interjects into Erin's follow-up question, "My turn to hold the baby." She's antsy and she's been unable to tune into the conversation because of her need to hold Haven. She hasn't seen her in weeks and she missed the little one a lot. Atwater fortunately doesn't make her beg for long. He holds her up as Burgess rushes over to take her.

Burgess wraps the infant in her arms, hugging her and breathing in the fresh baby smell. She feels the little angel's hand touch her mouth and she smear kisses into her palm in return. The baby is distracted though; the bright lights in the restaurant draw her in. She is blinking at them; their too bright, but when Kim takes a seat, it pulls her short attention away from the bright beams. With her hands wrapped around the baby's small waist, she sits the infant down in front of her on the edge of the table. The baby's legs dangled and her head relaxed towards the side; her neck muscles weren't fully developed to hold up her head yet, "You look uncomfortable," Burgess slides her from the table and onto her lap, having her small feet stand upon her jeans, "is that better?" She leans the baby against her chest, taking the weight off her legs and the stress of having a lack of control from her neck. Holding each hand, Kim pulls the infant back and looking into her hazel eyes, her own heart melts. She wants one. She wants a baby. Kim leans forward and presses a kiss against Haven's cheek, "You are just the cutest," she draws back and notices a minor red cut on the baby's nose, "Er, what happened to her nose?"

Lindsay leans over to look, "She scratched herself. Jay was making the funniest noises and she started kicking her little legs and moving her arms all over the place and she scratched herself. We keep forgetting her mitts at home so we can prevent that, but I misplaced them." Erin's finger brushes gently over the small cut, "She didn't cry or anything so she's fine, aren't you baby?" The toothy grin that stretches out across the new mother's face warms Kim's heart.

"How have you been Erin? You know, considering what you've been through…"

Lindsay looks away from the child to answer Dawson's question, "I've been better," she straightens her posture in her seat, "but honestly, with the baby, I haven't really had the opportunity to even think about it…so that's good. And Dr. Charles comes over once every other week to sit and talk with me and that helps too. I'm fine."

Erin and Jay avert their attention from the next conversation and towards their menus, debating over what they wanted to order. She only tunes back in when she subconsciously turns to eye her baby sitting in Kim's lap; her best friend holding the little girl's hands and making them clap as she bounces her legs up and down. If there was anyone, besides Halstead and Voight, she trusted with her baby the most, it would be Burgess. She looks at Haven through the eyes of a mother, through the eyes of a person who desperately wants to be someone's mother; she has the maternal instincts, she just doesn't know what to do with them. And then there's Ruzek; he looks absolutely terrified when he's near the child. He doesn't want children, he thought he could make an exception because he's in love with Kim, but since having the baby, he realized that's not something he wants; it's not something he thinks he'll be able to do, but Kim refuses to believe it. She keeps trying to force the idea of a baby on Ruzek and she is definitely not opposed to using Haven to do so, "Hold her."

Adam shakes his head, "I…I'm good."

"Come on Adam; she's not going to bite," Kim replies, extending the baby towards him.

"I can't."

Mouse scoffs, "Are you scared?"

"No, I'm more uncomfortable than scared," he corrects and Burgess doesn't heed his words. She extends the baby further towards him, forcing him to take a hold of her. And he does hold her firmly. She won't slip or fall from his grasp, but he's holding her at an arms' distance. She's extended away from his chest; his hands holding her hips, her legs dangling and the look on her face makes him nervous.

"My baby doesn't have the plague Adam," Halstead argues, a clear tone of irritation and annoyance in his voice and seething through his words, "She's not contagious or anything!"

Burgess looks fed up, "Are you seriously scared of a one month old baby?"

And before he can even answer and deny what everyone can obviously see, the infant's bottom lip drops and she suddenly bursts into tears, loud sobs blare out as her face turns red.

Jay is ready to grab her, so is Erin, but Olinsky who is sitting next to Ruzek swipes her from his arms. One hand of his is behind her head and the other is around her bottom and he leans her against his shoulder –the shoulder closest to Ruzek. With his eyes still on the baby, he answers Kim's earlier question, "I just don't do well with babies! They don't like me!"

"I wouldn't like you either if you held me like that!" Dawson defended, watching Olinsky console the crying infant. Bystanders glance over as the baby's screams increase in volume.

Olinsky starts patting her back, "Are you upset with mean ol' Uncle Adam?" The vibration of his chest as he speaks consoles her. Her cries start to decrease in volume and sniffling takes its place. Even though her wailing stopped, her sniffling still persisted; she's calming down.

Ruzek turns away from the baby and notices each face around the table staring at him, "Hey, it's not my fault that kids don't like me!"

Her head remained lying against Olinsky's shoulder comfortably. She continues to sniffle. It's the sweetest and the most adorably innocent sound they've heard. As a one month old, she isn't able to see a far distance away yet, but she is able to see up close. She is able to see Adam because he's sitting right next to her and Olinsky. A small whimper escapes and Olinsky stops patting her back and starts rubbing it. Erin watches and gives a warm, side smile; a dimple pierces into only one of Erin's cheeks, "You're a natural with kids Al."

"What can I say? Babies love me."

Her sniffles and whimpers continue and Kim feels bad; she pouts, "Aw Adam, you really made her sad." She continues to watch the teary-eyed baby and out of an angry frustration, she elbows her fiancé in the abdomen.

"Ouch!" He exclaims, grabbing his side, "What was that for?"

"You made her cry!"

Ruzek does feel bad, but he didn't want to hold her in the first place; Kim made him and he tried to do it right, but he was uncomfortable; his hand continues to rub his waist, "It wasn't on purpose Kim! I'm sorry! And I told you I didn't want to hold her. I told you."

The whimpering, the crying and the sniffling all stopped the second Haven yawns. Crying is exhausting and it was starting to take its toll on her little body. The toothless yawn she does is proof that within the next thirty minutes, she'll be asleep. And fortunately Voight arrives, greets everyone, and gets some hand sanitizer from Jay before scooping the baby right from Olinsky's arms. It was perfect timing because if Haven fell asleep, Erin and Jay wouldn't have let Voight wake her in order to spend time with her. He would have had to wait until she woke up, if she woke up before they left the restaurant. Hank didn't even get the chance to take off his leather jacket, but he was too eager to hold Haven, and with her seated on his lap, Mouse and Dawson who are seated next to him, help him safely maneuver out of his coat without bothering her. He's so distracted by her presence, he doesn't see Erin take a photo on her cell phone; he's only broken out of his distraction to place his order and once that's done, his attention is back on her.

She's so small. She's so innocent. She's so adorable and lovable that Voight gives the angel the largest smile he could muster. He turns her around in his lap, her little legs bent and crossed. His hand brushes over the few strands of brunette hair she has atop of her head and he notices the puffiness, the redness and the moisture within her eyes, "Has she been crying?" He scoops her up and holds her up close to peck her cheek in an attempt to cheer her up; he draws her back, makes a silly face before bringing her back towards him for another kiss.

"Ask Ruzek," Mouse comments.

"I said I was sorry."

Burgess pats his thigh, "Ruzek, it's okay."

"She's going to hate me."

"She's not even going to remember this incident," Erin says in an attempt to cheer him up, "You'll learn. It's not the first time you held her and it won't be the last."

"I'm surprised you're still going to let me hold your kid."

Halstead sighs through his irritation, "Only under adult supervision."

"Well that's embarrassing…"

"Once you learn how to hold her, you'll be fine," Erin gives him an assuring nod of the head.

"I'm not a kid person; I keep telling her that."

Kim rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, "I'm never going to have children," she sighs.

"You'll always have Haven." Ruzek reminded.

"But that's my baby…" Lindsay's brows furrow as she confusedly remarked. She missed the point Adam was trying to make; she missed the fact that the words he was spewing was only said to cheer his fiancée up, and when he provides her with a pleading look for help, she gets it, "Oh," she nods, immediately willing to give in, "But Adam is right though," she takes a hold of Kim's hand, "It takes a village to raise a kid. You'll always have Haven."

The wheels in Kim's head starts to turn; she's convincing herself that she doesn't need a baby. She may want one, but she doesn't need one. She can make that sacrifice for him. He didn't want to get married, but he made the sacrifice to do so in order to keep her, in order to maintain his relationship. He was willing to do that for her so she should be able to do this for him. Kim peers across the table to glance at the baby in Voight's lap, "And she's perfect," her eyes draw away from her, "I don't even think I would have been able to produce a child that measured up." She smiled to ease the mood of the conversation.

"If she understood you, she would blush," Erin replied, squeezing Kim's hand gently.

Burgess focuses back on the baby in Hank's arms as conversation picks back up around the table. She doesn't know what's being discussed because all of her focus and her attention are on Haven. She's fighting sleep, but she's losing it and eventually she's gone, she's in a dream state with her head resting against her grandfather. Her chest rises and falls with every breath she takes and soon enough her dad notices. Voight was completely smitten with the angel in his arms; she had him wrapped around her little finger. Halstead nudges his wife and nods his head towards the sleeping baby and while she cleared the infant's hat and coat out of the stroller, Jay went to go get her. He grabbed the baby blanket and laid it over his shoulder before carefully scooping the sleeping little girl from Voight's arms; once connection was lost, the sergeant felt the smile on his face falter as she was carried away.

Jay pressed a smooch against the side of his daughter's head; a few strands of brunette hair are sprinkled on the top, but the side remains bald. With both hands around her, he lays her down in the stroller; both he and Erin maneuver her inside of it until she looks comfortable and Erin pulls the blanket up to her shoulders. And if perfect timing existed, it presented itself just now as the food came out. Neither parent had to worry about holding the baby and trying to eat. As each plate is placed down in front of them, conversation surrounding the table is sparked, "I know what you did before dinner, but what are you doing afterwards?" Erin asks, pulling the stroller cover over the baby so strangers wouldn't peer into the stroller as they walk pass. It's also pulled to block out the bright, streaming lights in the restaurant. She needed Haven to at least sleep through her meal so when she wakes up both she and Jay can tend to her fully.

"We're actually going out clubbing," Atwater answers, referring to him, Dawson, Ruzek and Burgess, "You both should come," he recommends, as Kim eagerly nods in confirmation.

"If you want to go, I can watch Haven," Voight offered.

"I think I'll speak for me and Erin, we can't make it this time," Jay unfortunately had to let them down easy; "It's not the right time."

"Why not?"

"Kim, I had a baby five weeks ago. She doesn't sleep through the night. I had at least a total of three hours of sleep last night," Lindsay exclaimed, "Unless you want me passing out in the middle of the dance floor, I'll have to pass. And besides, she's only a month old, she needs her parents right now and I'm not ready to leave her just yet."

"I'll have enough fun for the both of us then."

Erin smiles at her best friend appreciatively, "Have a drink for me too."

"Of course," Kim nods while simultaneously taking a bite of her food, "I hate that you're going to miss out. We're supposed to be meeting Atwater's lady friend too."

Most of the team straightens their posture; they turn to face Atwater, all eyes on him as he bashfully avoids eye contact. Erin is grinning from ear to ear, practically bouncing in her seat and clasping her hands together, "Who is she? When did you two start going out?"

"It's new," Kevin answered, shrugging indifferently, "It's very new."

"She's already meeting the team so it has to be getting serious. What's her name?"

"So," Jay interjected, cutting in before Kevin could respond, "we'll definitely have to come next time. Erin and I are looking forward to meeting her. Anyway, how's the food Kev?"

After a sigh of relief and a mouth of thanks to Jay, he answered, "It's good."

Halstead had only chimed into the conversation, bringing up an irrelevant topic that everyone couldn't care less about only to save his friend from the prying questions of his wife. It was a good enough distraction because by the time Atwater answered, Erin is in another conversation with Dawson and Voight. Burgess is distracted; she's currently ordering a slice of birthday cake for the birthday boy, her former partner and one of her closest friends. Atwater doesn't hear because he's wrapped in a conversation with Olinsky, but Burgess excitedly places the order, accepts the additional charge to add extra whip cream and chocolate syrup and then sends the waitress on her way before Atwater notices. Erin catches it all in her peripheral and she turns to comment, but she hears a small, short whine. It's short and quick. Erin and Jay both freeze and take a look at each other; they're frozen and with wide eyes they peer into the opening of the stroller after Jay slowly lowers the stroller cover. They see the baby; she's stirring in her sleep, her little hands clenched in fists that rest against the side of her head. Her adorable face is scrunched up and Jay looks up at his wife in concern, "I think she's having a bad dream," he says in a whisper, being mindful not to startle the baby, "Should we wake her?"

Before Erin could come up with an answer, Haven makes the decision for both of them. Her eyes remain close, but she erupts into a crying rage, face turning red, but no tears trickling down her cheeks. Her mouth is wide open; revealing her pink gums as she cries out for her parents, arms flailing around in the air. Erin grabs her, scoops her right up and feels the added weight to the baby's diaper; she reaches beneath the stroller to grab the diaper bag before heading off to the bathroom. Halstead watches until she disappears, until she's no longer in his line of vision, "Jay," his name is called by Dawson and he tunes back into the conversation, "Are you ready to come back to work? We're eager. The place hasn't been the same without you."

He shrugs, "I'm looking forward to coming back while at the same time I'm not."

"Do you think it's going to be hard?"

Halstead turns to answer Kim's question, "I know it's going to be hard. I know I'm lucky because not many new dads are awarded the opportunity to stay home with baby for a month, but I kind of gotten used to it and comfortable with the idea," he subconsciously reaches into the crib and pulls out the baby's blanket, "Erin and I have this setup going on that works. We have a routine and once I go back we'll have to start a new one."

"And then you'll have to start another one once Lindsay comes back," Dawson added.

"I don't know how parents do it," he says, dropping his fork onto his empty plate, "She has never been out of my sight for more than a couple of minutes. I can't imagine not seeing her for eight or more hours; it seems unrealistic."

"From one dad to another," Olinsky decided to chime in and add his expertise, "this won't be the last time you'll feel like this. You'll have the first day of school and when she leaves for college. It's a never-ending feeling when your child is out of your sight."

"Your daughter is an adult Al while mine is a baby," he retorts, staring off into the distance; every part of him wishing he had more time on paternity leave, "And I know I'm lucky because not many professions and not many bosses offer paternity leave, but every single day since December 2nd I woke up to my baby, patiently and tiredly cared for her and watched her grow into the one month old she is today. It's going to be a hard habit to break. I'm excited to come back, but at the expense of my daughter…not so much."

And once he finishes he spots her. She's holding the baby and the diaper bag while making her way back to the table. He didn't want to talk about this when she's around. It's going to be hard for him, but she had a few weeks left before she had to come back and he wanted her to enjoy those, not feel guilty because he won't be enjoying them with her. As Erin continues to walk over, her nose brushes gently against the baby's which elicits a small grin on both of their faces. He can honestly say he never gets tired of Erin's dimples and now their daughter inherited them which made him one lucky husband and father. She approaches the table, puts the diaper bag back in the compartment under the stroller before extending the infant towards him, "Here," she suppresses a yawn as she tiredly extends the child, "Take your baby," and he pulls Haven into his arms. And his time holding her was just as brief as the time it spent for him to take her from Erin's arms because by the time Haven is laid on his chest, he feels Dawson pry the baby away.

They all want their time with Haven in before she leaves with her parents. She already spent a brief amount of time with everyone –including Ruzek- and besides Mouse. Dawson was getting his time in now. She's on his lap; her legs exposed because after changing her diaper, her mom put a long-sleeved onesie on her. Pants were thrown somewhere inside the diaper bag. Her little legs are bent as he holds her up in a sitting position on his lap –facing him. He grins, makes the silliest faces and reenacts the goofiest sounds. She stares at him, a ghost of a smile on her face, not yet fully able to crack up laughing, but fully able to offer him the tiniest hint of a smile. When a dimple pierces into a cheek, he knows he's successful. She doesn't offer the dimpled smile up to everyone. When she gets a little older, he knows he'll be able to get a bigger smile –one that she is incapable of doing right now at a month old- and he knows he'll be able to get a hearty laugh from her –a laughter that she currently is not old enough to emit.

Dawson is ready to move along to his next silly face when he hears the team clapping. The waitress walks over; a large slice of birthday cake deliciously rests in the center of a white, well-decorated plate. Everyone around the table starts singing happy birthday. He lifts Haven up from his lap as he tunes into the song. His own voice is adding to the lyrics and the pitch of the happy birthday melody. Atwater is surprised. He peers down at the cake before looking up at all of his friends sitting around the table. They're smiling –beaming ear to ear. Antonio is holding the baby against his chest; her head is laid down, facing the direction of her dad. She's unable to recognize faces yet, but she stares at him anyway. She'll eventually know the face of her father, of the man who will raise her and protect her. She'll eventually know her mom and dad, the people who created her, brought her into the world and will raise her around their beliefs, practices and morals. She watches him because he's in the immediate proximity of her vision. Her far-sighted vision has yet to come in; it'll come with time. However, her near-sighted vision has her staring at the side of her father's face; she watches him smile, clap and sing happy birthday. She watches him until Antonio shifts her in his arms; he moves her from one side to the other.

"You all are the best," Atwater announces after blowing out the candle, "Thank you and if I never said this before I'm saying it now. You guys are my family; forever and always."

They all repeat after him, "Forever and always."

The bill is requested seconds after Atwater begins eating his cake and it's split in six different ways; the two couples accounting for two while Voight, Olinsky, Dawson and Mouse account for the other four. Atwater doesn't have to pay. It's his birthday after all. Jay reaches into the diaper bag and pulls out the baby's leggings; the shirt she wore here remains inside since she's now in a long-sleeved onesie. He hands the pants to Antonio for him to put on the baby as the bills are brought to the table. Each one is passed around and when he is handed the black leather folder with their check inside, he hands it to Erin. She's usually in charge of the funds. She quietly checks the bill and pays accordingly, being mindful to add in a few extra dollars to account for tip. She hands it back over to the waitress, "We should be getting up out of here."

"That means I have to say bye," Kim exclaimed, scanning the table in search of the baby; she's now in Mouse's arms.

"You can visit any time."

"Good," Kim responded to Jay's words, "because this whole month it drove me crazy that I couldn't come see you guys and Haven."

Erin argued, "We talked on the phone."

"It didn't make it any easier."

"She was a preemie and the doctor wanted us to keep all outside germs away from her until she was a few weeks old," Erin felt the need to explain to her overly dramatic friend, "She had her doctor's appointment today and we got the green light to start taking her out more."

"How was the appointment?"

"Horrible," Erin and Jay answered in unison.

"I thought you said it was good," Voight chimed in from across the round table.

"We got good news, but she had to have a shot," Erin further explained to ease the worries of her friends, "Poor baby cried her heart out. She cried herself to sleep. No one was able to comfort her."

With wide eyes, Kim looks over at the fussy baby in Mouse's arms, "The more I know, the more I start not wanting kids," out of surprise, everyone turns to face her; she continues, "I don't think I can do the pregnancy thing, the labor, and I can't deal with listening to babies cry," her voice cracks as she hears Haven begin to fuss louder, "It makes me want to cry." In her peripheral, she spots Jay reaching into the diaper bag to pull out a bottle; he quickly fixes it at the table and shakes its contents until it's all mixed together. He hands it over to Mouse to feed her.

"Well if you want kids, you'll have to get used to it," Erin asserted, rising up from her seat in preparation to leave, "That's how they communicate as babies." She shrugs.

"Your baby is my baby." And they both chuckle at that. Maybe Burgess will come around to the idea of not having a child.

At one point, one unseen to Erin, Mouse ends up with the baby, feeding her. He's holding her. One of his large arms are around her small body and his other feds her the bottle; she's quiet, no longer fussy and she's sucking up the breastmilk in her bottle. Erin grabs her coat and begins putting it on, watching amusedly as Ruzek watches Mouse in awe, "How is everyone so good with her besides me?"

"Because you need to relax," Erin answers, zipping up her coat.

Kim elaborates on Lindsay's answer, "Babies can smell fear."

"Or at least sense it," Atwater comments.

Ruzek sighs, "That kid doesn't like me," his hands run down his face in frustration.

"She probably remembers how much you irritated me during my pregnancy," Erin jokes in an attempt to lighten his mood; she sees her husband get up to start putting on his coat.

"I don't know what it is, but she doesn't like me."

"Give it time man," Halstead asserts, zipping up his own coat.

"It has been five weeks."

"She's just a baby," Erin defended.

"Eventually that excuse won't work."

"Are you letting a one month old baby get to you?" Kim asked, nudging his side jokingly.

"She has it out for me."

"She doesn't know what she's doing," Lindsay continued to defend, tucking her hands into her coat pockets, "The way you held her practically set her off."

The baby had just finished her entire bottle; she was now contently full. Jay pushes his chair up to the table and then reaches under the stroller to grab a burp cloth from the diaper bag. Tossing it over to Mouse, he watches his longtime friend position the cloth and the baby over his shoulder. His hand hitting against her back until the inevitable burp lightly erupts out. Voight takes the empty bottle from Mouse and passes it over to Jay, "She was probably just tired."

"No," Ruzek remarks to Voight's excuse for the baby, "watch, let me see her." He gets up to walk over to the well-fed, well-rested, and recently changed and burped baby.

Halstead shook his head, "You are not about to use my kid as an experiment."

"I just want to prove my point to Voight."

Once Mouse gets a nod of approval from both Halstead and Lindsay, he allows Ruzek to take a hold of the infant. He hands over the burp cloth back to Jay while Adam nervously walks back to his seat, the baby in his hands, dangling and extended away from his body like he's scared to rest her against his chest. Voight sees it for the first time, "Ruzek, hold her right!" He demanded.

Adam takes a seat, "I'm trying!" He's not. It doesn't look like he's trying at all.

With no hint of amusement on her face or lightheartedness in her words, Erin says, "I swear if you make my baby cry again it's going to be a problem."

"I'm not going to drop her."

"That wasn't my concern," she retorts; her hands wrap around the handle of the stroller, "You're holding her exactly like how you held her earlier and that didn't work out for you. Have you noticed the way we all held her? Hold her like that!" She loved Adam, she did, but she absolutely adored and loved her baby even more and she doesn't, does not, want to hear her cry again.

"I'm trying!"

Her arms cross, an irritated look on her face, "You have three seconds to hold my baby correctly. She doesn't look comfortable at all."

It's something about Ruzek when he's in contact with a baby that makes him nervous. He doesn't want to hurt her. He doesn't want to do the wrong thing. He continues to hold her up and out; she's extended and her little legs dangle. It's the exact way he held her the first time until he gently sets her feet down onto his lap. Adam is sitting, holding her weight up; his face is nervous as he starts to bounce her up and down. She's quiet as he bounces her and for the first time, the nervousness on his face disappears. He bounces her more.

"Don't do that," Jay orders.

"Why not? She's not crying."

And before Halstead is able to give him an answer, he finds out for himself, "That's why." He's referring to the spit up now running down Ruzek's shirt. His best friend is stunned in silence as Jay comes over to lift the baby from his hold. Everyone around the table tries to silence their chuckles, but it was impossible. Even Kim found herself laughing as she hands him a couple of napkins to wipe the spit up off his shirt. Jay takes a napkin to dab at the spit up around his daughter's mouth, "This doesn't mean she doesn't like you."

"Your child puked on me!"

With the baby held in one arm, he dabs the napkin against her chin, "She just ate. Everyone knows not to bounce a baby around right after they eat!"

"I didn't," Adam grunts, taking the napkin from Kim's hand.

"We should really be getting out of here," Erin interjects into the conversation; her hand gently settles against the lower portion of her husband's back.

"I'm going to get that kid to like me," Ruzek aggressively throws the used napkin back onto the table, "I'll make sure of it. To get her to like me is my goal by the end of this year!"

Tugging the baby's hat onto her head, Erin responds, "I'm sure you'll be successful."

"I'm serious Lindsay. I have it all planned out. I'm going to visit regularly so she starts to remember my face. I'm going to bring her gifts and sweet snacks when she starts eating things besides milk. And I'm going to practice the silliest faces a baby has ever seen. I guarantee you."

"We believe you," Jay laughs, holding the baby in one arm as his wife slides the infants coat on her before zipping it up snugly. She pecks a light kiss against the baby's upper cheek before heading to grab the handle of the stroller.

After bidding the team a farewell and a see you later, the couple, their daughter and Kim headed out of the restaurant. She wanted to walk them out to get a little extra time with Haven. Even though the baby remained in her dad's arm as her mom pushed the stroller ahead of them, Kim walked alongside Jay and the baby. Once the cold, brisk air hit them, Jay pulled his daughter closer into him; her face against his face as the cold wind blinds them. She's cold. He's cold. They're all cold. Jay sacrifices the warmth in his hand as he pulls it out of his coat pocket to rub heat and friction into his daughter's back. Her little cheeks turn pink. And he speeds up his walk to get her to the car as fast as possible, "Can I strap her in?" Burgess asks, following behind them.

He doesn't argue. He takes the keys from his wife and hands the baby over to Burgess. She keeps her just as warm as her dad. Jay quickly checks for traffic before hopping into the driver's seat; he wants to warm up the car and turn the heat on. Erin closes the stroller and carefully puts it in the backseat of the car; once done, she hops in the backseat of the vehicle, preparing to help Kim put the baby in the car seat from the inside. Burgess holds her freezing arms around the baby, keeps her close to her chest, "Okay, how do I do this?"

"Sit her in here," Erin directs, watching cautiously as Kim prepares to pull Haven away from her chest, "Careful. Careful, watch her head, careful."

"Erin," Kim snaps annoyingly, "I need help strapping her in, not putting her in the car."

Lindsay rolls her eyes, "Sorry." Kim continues her earlier act and sets the baby in the car seat. She looks up at Erin to wait for her next direction, "Put her arms through the straps and buckle it over her chest," as Lindsay orders, Kim follows, "her seat is already connected to the base, so you're pretty much done once you snap her in." And once the buckle snaps, the baby's bottom lip drops and she immediately starts crying, sending a wave of panic through Kim.

"I did something!" She shouts, pulling her hands away, "Oh gosh, I did something! I did something! What did I do? Did I hurt her?"

"It's alright," Erin assures, buckling her own seat belt, "She's buckled in and safe. She'll stop crying once the car is in motion."

Burgess didn't know whether or not Erin was only saying that because it was the truth or to make her feel better. When she looks up at Jay, spotting him watching her with a smirk clearly across his face, she realizes that her words were true. Haven was fine. She wasn't hurt or uncomfortable. She was just ready for the car ride. Kim gives a breathy smile, leans in and pecks the little girl's cheek, before backing out of the car, "Alright my friends, I'll be stopping by tomorrow to see you all."

"Who are you fooling?" Erin scoffs, inserting the pacifier in the baby's mouth, "You're only coming to see the baby."

"You got me!" Kim joked, leaning against the opened door, "I don't even know why I thought that was going to work. I should have known you would see through it."

"Yeah, yeah," Erin rolls her eyes jokingly, "alright, close the door. You're freezing my baby."

"Drive safe," Kim responds before closing the door.

As the motion of the car calmed their agitated baby, Erin extends her hand to take a hold of the little one. Her finger runs casually over the infant's hand; her baby is awake, her wide eyes staring at what's in front of her which is simply the backseat of the car. Her finger leaves her daughter's hand and casually roams up her daughter's onesie until she's gently tracing against the side of her baby's face, "She is the best thing that has ever happened to us."

Jay glances up in the rearview mirror, "She is. And to think, she wasn't even planned."

"She's the best gift I didn't even know I wanted."

"Yeah," he glances back up at the rearview mirror to watch as his wife's eyes remain glued to the baby; a look of love and adoration are filled within them and he doesn't want to look away, but he has to in order to continue driving safe, "She's only been in our life for a month and I already can't picture life without her."

The car ride was consumed with warmth from the car's heater, darkness with the occasional light emitting from a street light and silence. It created the perfect atmosphere for the baby to eventually fall back asleep. It seems that's all babies do; eat, sleep and use the bathroom. It's a repeated cycle with the occasional time for play added in. Erin even feels herself dozing off. For a new mother who had been cooped up in the house for a month with a baby and her husband to venture out and spend so much time with friends has been exhausting. She's envious as she watches her baby lose the battle with sleep. If Erin was to doze off, she would have to wake right back up to go into the house –it was pointless. Haven could remain asleep, she can remain in whatever innocent dream that overpowered her newborn mind. The ease of the ride seemed to have placed her in a zombie-like trance that ended once the ride stopped. Finally home and minutes away from getting comfortable in her own bed, Erin hops out of the car, ventures around to unstrap the car seat and carry it up to the front door. Carrying the diaper bag around one shoulder, Jay unlocks the front door and allows his wife and the baby to enter first, "Do you want me to put her down?"

"No, I have it," Erin responds, walking further into the house before heading upstairs, "She's asleep, so it shouldn't take me long."

He shuts the door and locks it behind him, "Alright, call me if you need me."

"You know I won't hesitate," she replies, chuckling softly.

Jay drops the diaper bag to the ground beside the door, discards his jacket and hangs it on the coat rack before heading upstairs to get ready for bed. Erin is humming softly to the baby as she changes her from her outfit and into a warm pair of pajamas that covers her little toes from the brisk chill in the house. Lifting the sleeping baby from the changing table, she hears Jay call out, "I'm turning the heat up. It's warm, but for her little body she's probably freezing."

Lindsay doesn't respond. Her response isn't needed. If she disagreed, she would have voiced it, but because she said nothing, her silence was agreement. It was warm in the house, but her baby was still cold. Even though the little girl was snuggled in her long-sleeved pajamas, she couldn't lay her down yet. She used her own body to heat up the smaller one. Rubbing her hand against Haven's back, her baby's face lying in the crook of her own neck, as she gently rocked back and forth, feeling the small breaths of the baby tickle against her neck. She remained asleep, and when Haven's cheeks warmed up, Erin carefully laid the child into her crib. It was the first night she'll be sleeping in her own room. It was a test they're trying out. It was discussed and agreed upon by her and Jay on their ride to the doctor's office earlier today. Laying the baby down on her back, arms sprawled out beside her head; Erin grabs the baby blanket and spreads it out over the infant before leaving the room. She cracks the nursery door and tiptoes down the hallway.

Arriving back to her own room, she sees her husband comfortably dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, sitting on top of their made-bed, back resting against the headboard as he flips through television channels, "Is she asleep?" He doesn't take his eyes off the television screen when he curiously asks.

Kicking off her shoes, she responds, "Yeah, I think this is the first night she hasn't fought it."

"Well, she's exhausted. She had a long day," he affirms, turning off the television when nothing interesting appears to be on.

Erin grabs the baby monitor from on top of the dresser and turns it on, "You have a point there," she sets it down onto her end table; she goes to grab the nanny cam screen from on top of the dresser and brings it over to Jay's end table, "Hopefully she's tired enough to sleep through the night," Erin begins removing her clothes in preparation for bed.

"She's tired, but I don't think she's that tired," he jokes, looking as she goes to the dresser to grab one of his shirts. She pulls it over her head and he watches as it falls to her mid-thigh. He watches with a smile as she silently gets ready for bed, her attention elsewhere until she feels his eyes on her; he's smiling, his pupils following her around the room.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," she winks.

"I'd rather have the real thing."

Sitting up, with his back resting against the headboard and body sat above the covers, he watches as his wife climbs onto the bed, crawls up and takes a seat on his lap –facing him, with one leg on each side. They're practically chest to chest; her bare legs are folded as she rests comfortably on his lap. Her own hands cup his face, her wedding ring beaming in the well-lit bedroom, "You know, since having the baby, I missed this," she whispers, before suddenly feeling his lips press against hers; she's happy until he pulls away, "It's hard to find time for us to spend together with a baby always in the same room."

"Tell me about it," he responds, coming back in for another kiss.

It's important for them to always find time for themselves. He knows it. She knows it. Her arms wrap around his neck and she twists and twirls the strands of brunette hair at the nape of his neck, "You know," she whispers, her mouth mere millimeters away from his; as her lips move with each word, he feels them gently and occasionally brush against his, "I'm back on the pill and the doctor gave me the green light today. There's nothing holding us back."

Jay grins at her words, mouth forms into an open-mouth smile. He doesn't respond; he brushes her hair behind her shoulder and moves in so close that she can feel his breath against her cheek. He simply pecks it. Her hands fall from the nape of his neck and slowly slide down his back, pulling at the material of his t-shit as he begins trailing kisses down her face, towards her neck. He's aware that once he kisses her neck, all amount of gentleness will crumble, "Jay," he looks up the second she calls his name, "just be careful…and mindful of my stitches." Erin pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it somewhere onto the floor. And once he continues trailing kisses down her jawline, she smiles; she feels his breath on her neck as his lips hover above it. She patiently waits; she wants his kisses now. She wants him now. Then suddenly, she feels the tender brush of his lips, burning as they make contact with her neck.

Her head falls back, giving him more room to kiss as his hand slides around her waist to pull her closer to his bare-chest. His opposite hand begins tugging at his shirt covering her upper body before it's soon discarded like his was moments ago. His kisses are now on her shoulders, trailing back up her neck until he pulls back. She frowns, but he takes the moment to look at her, to really look at her; she's his wife, his best friend, the love of his life and the mother of his child. She's everything. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for her. And abruptly all thoughts stop in their tracks. She feels the warmth of his lips hover inches in front of hers, waiting for the inevitable moment they'll touch again, waiting impatiently for the moment they become one. Then he cups her face in his hands and presses his lips against hers, both of their wishes, desires, urges and impulses finally being met.

A hand runs through her hair as the kisses become harder, more urgent and desperate, her hands pulling the strings to his sweatpants loose when suddenly the mood, the feeling, the moment is interrupted by the baby. Her cries echo out of the baby monitor. Her cries fill the hallway and make its way to their bedroom. Erin disappointedly groans; she leans her own forehead down against his shoulder and exhales a dramatic sigh. He smiles and kisses the side of her head and whispers, "I'll go get her." She doesn't move right away. He kisses the side of her head again as his hand pats against her bare back, "I'll bring her in the room."

Lindsay leans down to swipe her husband's shirt up off the floor before rolling over onto her side of the bed. Within seconds, her shirt is back on and she's watching him get out of bed. After tying the drawstrings of his sweatpants, he begins heading out to bring his daughter back into the room with them. It was the first night they tried it. She's not ready to sleep alone yet. She reaches over to grab the baby's bassinet and wheel it closer to the bed. Now all that's left to do is wait… she turns off the baby monitor, lays in bed and patiently waits for her husband to come back with the baby. And when he does walk into room, the infant is laid against his bare chest, fast asleep. He meets her eyes and chuckles, "Once I picked her up, she stopped crying."

"It's like she knows," Erin laughs quietly, reaching for her cell phone to take a picture, "You two look adorable by the way, but I swear, it's like she knew."

"She's not ready to sleep in the room by herself."

"How did she know?"

Jay lies the baby down in the bassinet, "That's something you're going to have to ask her."

"I guess we should get some sleep," Erin whispers, turning off her bedside lamp, "especially while she sleeps. She'll probably be up in an hour or two ready for her next feeding."

Before climbing into his side of the bed, he turns off his bedside lamp. The room is filled with darkness and once he climbs in, he feels around for his wife and spoons her from behind. Both of their bodies facing the direction of their daughter who is quietly and comfortably sleeping in the bassinet beside their bed. She's content in her bassinet; she's at ease when sleeping in the same room as her parents. They're a few feet away, ready to tend to her beck and call at a moment's notice. And as their eyes close and their conscious loses the battle against sleep, their exhaustion seeps over, reminding them just how tired and drained they are, and the moment they fall into a deep sleep, she wakes up, screaming and ready for her next feeding. Erin hits Jay's side, "Hey, wake up," her voice is groggy, "the baby is crying."

"You're closer," he groans, rolling over to his opposite side, "And she's hungry. You didn't pump anymore breastmilk. I can't feed her."

Erin exhaustively sits up, throws the covers off her body, "Starting tomorrow, we're getting formula. I'm done breastfeeding," she leans over to grab the baby, "I'm serious Jay. That's going to be our next adventure," she lifts the baby and brings her over to the bed; once Haven is latched on, she continues to talk, "Once we wake up, we're getting formula."

"Mmhmm," he grumbles, snuggling beneath the covers. She glares as she fights sleep, patiently waiting for her baby to finish. Erin can't even help but watch him sleep, envious as his snores fill the room. She yawns and glances down at the baby; her eyes are closed and she's still feeding. Fighting the exhaustion and the fatigue proved to be an unfair battle that she inevitably loses.

And when Jay wakes up the next morning, he sees his wife leaning back against the headboard, holding their baby, both fast asleep.


	2. Two Months

Erin rouse from a heavy slumber and her first instinct, her maternal impulse made her reach out towards the bassinet, eyes still closed as her hand moved around in search of her two month old baby. She heard nothing. She felt nothing. Her eyes immediately open to find the bassinet empty and her husband's spot beside her cold. The absence of her husband explained the absence of her baby; it calmed whatever worries and concerns she started to feel. Lindsay peeled her eyes open wider, waking up from the restless sleep to become aware of the beaming and bright sun shining through the opened window. She becomes aware of the chill in the room, the opened window sweeping in a cold breeze every few seconds; Jay must have opened it up before leaving out. It wakes her up, when another breeze hits, it fully wakes her up.

Slowly the fatigue, the built up exhaustion since the birth of her baby and the tiredness began seeping out of her as she welcomed the sunlight into her bedroom. It woke her up and relaxed her completely. Eventually, the chill from outside pulled her out of bed; she closed and locked the window. Lindsay dragged herself across the bedroom, into the bathroom, to quickly brush her teeth and wash her face. Stretching her mouth out into a yawn, she stares at her reflection. The look of a drained mother, stretched thin from tending to a two month old baby all day while her husband worked was staring at her through the reflection in the mirror. This was the first day since she gave birth that she woke up naturally, no wake up calls or baby cries and it was the first time she actually felt well-rested. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Erin rubbed her dry eyes with the inside of her palms before looking back at her reflection. Light, faded circles appeared beneath her lids representing the lack of sleep, the long nights and the sudden wake up calls from a screaming baby. She had forgotten that Jay was off from work today and she was completely grateful for it; she needed to sleep in, she needed this. Raking her fingers through her messy shoulder length hair, Erin gathered it up and tied it all into a loose bun in order to keep it out of her face. Dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top, Erin walks out of the bathroom; her feet seeping into the white carpet as she leaves the bedroom in search of her family.

Her maroon-painted toes stood out as she walks down the white-carpeted hallway. She approaches the nursery, and cracks open the door. Her husband is gently rocking back and forth in the glider rocking chair, with the infant swaddled in a yellow baby blanket, resting comfortably in his arms. He peels his eyes away from the hazel orbs of his daughter to look up at her mother, "When she woke up," he whispers to keep the calm mood present, "I didn't want her to disturb you so I picked her up and took her right in here. I fed her."

Erin walks over to the window seat and sits down, "You're amazing; do you know that?" She asks, leaning forward to press a kiss against the jaw of her husband. Her hand settles on the back of his neck as she brings her lips to ghost over his, "I don't know what I would do without you."

"I feel the same way," he replies, smiling as she draws away to sit back down, "and fortunately for the both of us, we won't have to find out," Jay adjusts the baby in his arms, "I'm just happy to be having the day off. I missed my girls."

"And I missed the adult conversation," Erin retorted, eyes taking in the bundle of love and innocence on his lap, "And you know Jay, watching her is a full time job and I'm exhausted, my hair is always a mess, I reek of throw up some of the time and I'm in a grumpy mood for most of the day, but the second I look into her eyes, it makes it all worth it."

"It does make it all worth it."

The tips of Lindsay's fingers run against the strands of baby hair atop Haven's head, "You know I go back to work in a few weeks."

"I'm looking forward to it. I need my partner back."

"We need to start talking about childcare," Lindsay reminds, crisscrossing her legs and setting her hands down upon her ankles, "I don't want to put her into daycare."

"I'm with you on that," he nods in agreement, "There have been absolutely too many cases involving daycare providers and the children they're supposed to be caring for; we need someone we can trust and Gaby gave me the number of Louie's nanny and Natalie gave me the number of Owen's babysitter. I figured since our friends trust them enough, we could too."

"I was thinking about Annie; I thought we would consider her."

Jay continues to rock in the chair, "When was the last time Annie watched a baby?"

Erin bites her bottom lip and shrugs, "I guess since Travis was a baby, wait," she raises her hand to cut him off before he can interject with his opinion, "I know Travis is 19. I know it has been years, but you should see her with Havie. She's so good and Haven absolutely adores her. Annie comes over sometimes while you're at work to help around the house and she needs the money. Come on Jay," Lindsay pleads, "Lets help a friend out."

"Erin-"

"You know I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't trust her."

The baby's eyes watch her father; every facial expression he makes she takes in and when he responds, he looks down at her, "What about Charlie?"

"What about him?"

"Is he going to be a problem?"

Erin rolls her eyes and crosses her eyes, "You and I both know that Charlie isn't in Annie's life anymore. You can't hold Charlie's mistakes against her."

"I'm not," he defended, unraveling the blanket from around the baby when he feels her trying to kick through the swaddle, "I'm just concerned because he's Travis's father and he's a part of their life whether they like it or not. I just don't want him anywhere near my baby."

"I agree and I've told Annie that. If we get her to babysit, she'll come here, the baby won't go to her house. And Travis hasn't spoken to his father in over three months. For all we know Charlie is dead, in jail or skipped town to get away from some debt he owed to a hustler on the street."

Haven continues to kick her little legs, kicking off the remainder of the blanket. It falls to the ground and her dad leaves it there; his attention currently on the subject of who will watch the baby after Erin's maternity leave is over. The baby is laid in the crevice of her dad's closed legs; he holds her hands and moves her arms around excitedly as he responds to her mom, "I don't want you to think that I don't trust your friend because I do. You know I like Annie; I do trust her. It's him I don't trust at all," he asserts, his eyes looking at his wife as the baby remains in a good mood, she's kicking her little legs and they occasionally hit against his stomach. He holds down his shirt when he feels his daughter's foot get snagged beneath it; Jay catches her foot and laughs, "I don't know about this."

"Why are you being so uptight about this?"

"Because," he looks away from his daughter to glare at his wife, "we're not trying to figure out who can housesit while we're away; we're talking about who will be trusted to watch our kid."

"I know!" Erin remarks, angrily crossing her arms over her chest, "And I find it insulting that you would think that I would risk her safety," she nods towards the baby, "just to appease a friend. I want Annie to watch Haven because I know her; I trust her. She'll watch Haven and protect her as if she were her own. Annie is a good person, she's my oldest friend and it's offensive to me as a mother for my own husband to insinuate that I don't have my daughter's best interest in mind, like I'll hand her off to anyone!"

"Babe, that's not what I meant."

"Well, that's what it sounded like," she responded in irritation, "I've only been doing this motherhood thing for two months now and considering my past I consider myself a pretty, decent mother. Annie and I are from the same neighborhood; we hung with the same crowd. We both got arrested and came from not so decent families; she was my best friend because she was the only person who understood me. We were one in the same and if you think she isn't good enough to watch Haven for a few hours every day then what does that say in regards to what you think about me Jay?"

Halstead sighs, "So if she watches Haven, she'll come here?"

"Yes."

"She won't have any contact with Charlie?"

"None."

"And she'll tell us if she does?"

"I'm sure of it."

Jay's eyes fall towards the wide, innocent eyes of his daughter, "Well Havie, I guess you got yourself a new babysitter. Let the countdown until mommy goes back to work begin."

Erin's eyes fall towards her baby lying on her back in the middle of Jay's lap. Her bare legs kick in a small jagged motion, looking for that resistance young babies are used to getting, but finding nothing but air. When her arms stretch, they barely rise above her head as her head turns to face the direction of her mom. Erin gives her an open-mouth grin, "Hi baby," her voice coos as she waves at the staring infant, "I love you. Mommy can just look at you forever," Erin leans forward, legs remained crisscross as she runs her thumb down the side of her baby's face, "Please, don't ever grow up," she sighs. A reflexive smile, toothless and small appears on Haven's face with an adorable dimple piercing into both of her cheeks; it was perfect-timing, the baby probably had no idea what her mother was saying, but by the smile on her face, Erin chose to believe that Haven understood; she waves at the little girl, "Hi my baby," she talks lightly, "Hi," she uncrosses her legs to lean forward, "Hi mommy's baby," her lips press against her daughter's forehead and lingers for a few seconds until she pulls them away. She draws her eyes away from the baby and up towards her husband, "We should take advantage of you being off today. What should we do?"

"Let's go to the park."

Erin stands up and repeats, "You want to go to the park."

"Yeah," he answers, lifting the baby up and laying her against his shoulder, "I think it would be fun. We can bundle her up nice and cozy. Oh, we can put that white snowsuit with the faux fur around the hood on her that Olivia got her and go walking around the park. The fresh air would do us all some good and it'll be good to get out and do something."

"Alright," Erin nods in agreement, "I'll go take a quick shower."

Jay rises from the rocker, hands holding his baby up against his shoulder, "I already showered. I just need to throw on my snow boots. I'll pack up her diaper bag."

"I'll be quick then," she tosses a wave of the hand over her shoulder as she scurries out of the room, leaving both baby and husband behind.

Holding the baby in one arm as he scans the room for the diaper bag becomes a difficult job to multitask. She wants attention, but he needs to locate and restock her diaper bag. He couldn't do both simultaneously. Jay holds up his content baby and carefully lays her down in the crib, unfortunately though, she immediately starts crying. Her arms are reaching up and her face turning red. She's in tears; the solid orange-colored onesie she's wearing draws his eyes in. Her white, chubby legs kicking erratically as her clenched fist wave in the air. The hysterical cry, the screaming sobs, she's being overly dramatic and the theatrics instantly stop the second he picks her up. She's sniffling; Haven doesn't want to be put down. With one arm around her waist, he adjusts the baby against his hip as he begins searching her room for the diaper bag.

It takes a few minutes before it's found and once it's discovered, Jay starts restocking it with fresh and clean bibs, burp cloths, diapers and a few extra onesies. By the time he's done, Erin is dressed and out of the shower. She walks into the nursery the second her husband is sniffing the baby's behind; she scrunches up her nose, "Is that her?"

Jay nods, "Well, it's not me."

Halstead quickly takes her to the changing station and begins unbuttoning her orange onesie. Erin approaches and watches the process from over her husband's shoulder, "How can someone so small do all of that?" Her eyes widen at the amount of waste in the diaper, "After you wipe her up, maybe we should give her a bath?"

"Yeah," Jay rapidly shakes his head up and down, "I think you're right. Maybe we should let her soak in the bathtub or something," he jokes.

Erin disposes of the diaper and returns to find her husband holding a naked baby in the air; Haven's bottom is exposed and Jay's face is twisted in disgust, "This is your baby."

"Oh really, give me her," Lindsay smirks, taking her unclothed daughter from her husband, "That's pretty convenient for you. Set the baby tub up and start running some lukewarm water." She averts her attention back to the baby as her husband disappears from the room. Grabbing the pink hooded towel, Erin throws it over her shoulder and begins walking towards the bathroom. The water is running; Jay is sitting at the edge of the tub and the baby's tub is in the larger one; his fingers feel beneath the pouring water, checking to maintain the temperature and watching to make sure the tub fills to at least three inches. Too hot, too cold, until he felt it was just right. Jay extends his hands for the infant, "How does the water feel? Warm to you may be hot to her. We have to make sure it's just right."

"This isn't my first time Erin," he claps his hands before holding them out, gesturing for her to hand him the baby.

She hands him Haven, "Let me feel," extending her hand in the small baby tub, she feels the water, "This is cold Jay." Erin speaks matter of factly, "This is too cold for her," she turns back on the water to add some heat into it, "Don't be trying to freeze my baby."

As the cool water turns warm, Jay sets her down, feet first, in the baby bath tub. His arm holds her up, one hand supporting her neck and the other supporting her head; she isn't able to sit up yet so her weight is held up by her dad as her mom uses the washcloth to gently clean the baby all over. Bright colored bath toys float around the small tub and occasionally Erin pushes one in the water towards the baby, "Look at her Jay," she exclaims, laughing amusedly, "she's not interested in the toy at all. She's all about her hands right now." And as if on cue, Haven lifts her hands and begins excitedly splashing them against the water; her curious eyes takes in the effect as she watches droplets of water soak her mom's shirt and sprinkle against her parents' face. The couple laughs as Jay remains holding her up while Erin continues to wash her clean, "I'm going to have to change my shirt before we leave. She got it wet."

Lifting the small cup and scooping water into it, Erin gradually pours it down the baby's back, washing the soap suds off, "Woooo," Lindsay coos as the rush of water flows down her daughter's back, "Did that feel good?" The baby's hands continue to fly up and down and smack against the water, sprinkling drops onto the bottom of her mother's face, causing her to laugh while continually washing her clean. Erin wrung the water out of the washcloth and laid it down before squirting a few drops of baby shampoo into the palm of her hand. Her hair was slicked down by the sprinkles of water in her soft hair; her mother runs shampoo through the few strands of hair that she has before rinsing the soap off her hand in the water, "Can you wash the shampoo out of her hair? Here just take the cup," she hands it over to her husband, "I'm going to grab her towel I set on the sink," and within seconds she's back at his side, the shampoo washed out of the baby's hair as the two month old continues to pat her hands against the low water, "Alright baby," Lindsay leans forward, holding the towel open, "I hate to cut your fun short little girl," she scoops her hands beneath the baby's arms and picks her up, maneuvering the infant around while wrapping the hooded towel around her, "Can you let the water out of the tub babe?"

Erin stands in front of the mirror, holding the baby in one arm and tossing the hood of the towel over the infant's head. Wrapping the towel completely around Haven and patting her dry, she bounces the little girl around to keep her entertained. Standing in front of the mirror, the reflection draws in the attention of the two month old; Erin is standing close enough for Haven to see with her near-sighted vision and in response, her mother softly coos, "Who is that Havie? Do you see the baby?" The two month old looks at her own face, not recognizing it as her own. She looks at her mom's face, marveling at the silly expression she's making, "Do you see mommy?"

The baby's neck muscles weren't strong enough to lift her head, so her damp head rested against her mother's shoulder while Erin kept her angled in the direction of the mirror as she pat the bottom of the towel against her small feet, "Hey babe," she turns at the sound of Jay's voice, he's drying his hand on the hand towel, "I forgot to ask you about your session with Dr. Charles yesterday. I know he comes once every other week to talk to you, but I was wondering was that enough? You haven't really talked about it with me."

She kisses the side of her daughter's forehead, "I talk about it with Dr. Charles. It's baggage that I don't really like carrying around with me, but I recognize that even though I don't like talking about it, I need to if I want to be a cop again. Dr. Charles agreed to sign off on me going back to work once my maternity leave is over, and fortunately for me, this one here," Erin adjusts the baby in her arms as they exit the bathroom, "keeps me distracted from thinking about it when Dr. Charles isn't around."

"How long is that going to work though? You know, having Haven being a distraction."

"It's only some times throughout the day," she sighs, handing the baby over to Jay the second she hears the doorbell ring, "When I'm busy with her, I don't have time to think about all of that, but Dr. Charles has helped…a lot, definitely way more than I care to admit," her hand runs casually through her hair, "No offense to anyone, but it's easy telling him about everything that happened. It's easy talking to him."

"You know you can always talk to me."

"I know," she smiles, backing away towards the stairs after hearing the doorbell ring again, "but when I talk to Dr. Charles about it, I know he won't get mad, frustrated or upset. He listens."

Jay smirks, walking towards the nursery, "I will try not to be offended."

"You know I mean nothing harsh by it," she hollers, descending down the stairs, "He went to school to handle stuff like this. You didn't, so he's trained in that aspect."

"Erin, it's cool," he shouts, laying the baby down on the changing table to make it easier to put her in a diaper, "I'm just joking with you. It's okay. I'm just glad you're talking to someone about it. It's not good to keep any of that in."

Neither Lindsay nor Halstead were expecting any company, but most of their friends knew they were home since he had the day off and she rarely ventured out with the baby alone. Erin approaches it, doesn't bother to ask who is knocking, and simply opens the door, smiling at the sight of Annie and Travis. His skateboard is on the ground and he skates into her home, "Travis, what do I keep telling you?" Annie rushes in after him, "Hi Er," she hugs her friend before turning back to her son, "Don't skateboard on her floor! Come on!" She turns back to Lindsay, "I swear, you would think he was still a kid. He's almost 19."

"I can't speak on it," Erin chuckled, closing and locking the door behind them, "I'm no professional and I haven't had to reprimand anyone yet. My kid is still in diapers, can't walk, talk or do anything but eat, sleep and use the bathroom."

Annie clapped her hands excitedly, "Speaking of your kid, where is she?" She walks into the living room, expecting to see the two month old swinging in her swing, but becoming suddenly disappointed at the sight on an empty swing.

"We just finished giving her a bath," Erin answers, walking towards the staircase, "and we're heading to the park later, excuse me real quick, I need to change my shirt."

Travis lifts up his skateboard and holds it under his arm, "Want some company? I can show you and Jay my new moves."

"Of course," Erin nods, leaving the pair downstairs.

Both Annie and Travis sit at the dining room table, he lifts an apple from the fruit bowl and takes a large bite into it, causing his mother to roll her eyes in disgust as the juices from the apple run down the sides of his mouth. He uses the long sleeve of his shirt to wipe the mess off his mouth, "Do you have to be a pig? Come on Trav."

"What?" he smirks, extending his half-eaten apple towards her, "Want a bite?"

She swats his arm away, "Get that away from me."

"Just one bite Ma," He chuckles, taking another bite before reaching it out towards her again, "You know you want some."

"Are you tormenting your mother again?" Erin's voice fills the room; she is walking down the stairs, dressed in a different shirt, holding the diaper bag in one hand and an outfit in the other.

Annie rises from her seat, "He always torments me," she jokes, following her friend into the living room. Travis walking behind the two of them casually biting into his apple, "She loves it."

Lindsay sets the diaper bag onto the coffee table, looks up to see her husband entering the room, holding the baby who is now dried and dressed in only a diaper. She scoops the bare baby from his arms, lays her down on the couch and takes a seat near her feet, "Let's get you dressed."

Travis sets his skateboard down and crawls onto his knees, "What's up Havie Hav?!" On the floor, sitting on his knees, he toys with the baby's hand; her tiny fingers wrapped around his pinky as her head lays, facing him, "Hi Mama," he coos, sporting a silly expression on his face, "it's your favorite person, me Travis," he sports a goofy grin as he uses his free hand to pull the beanie off his head, "Your source of entertainment as your mom gets you dressed is here," the women chuckle as Travis jokes with a baby who has absolutely no idea what he's saying; he watches Erin snap the three buttons to close the long-sleeved onesie, "Just wait until you're older," he stares into the baby's hazel eyes, "I'm going to teach you how to skateboard, snowboard, rollerblade, rock climb, and parkour," as if she understands, she coos; she grins with her mouth open, legs kicking and her arms waving around, "Yeah, I think she agrees."

The baby gurgles as Lindsay slides a pair of sweatpants over her little legs, "Don't get too excited Travis because none of that is happening."

"I don't even know where his risk-taking behavior came from," Annie says, "I've never done any of the stuff he has named. He definitely doesn't get it from my side of the family."

"Mom, you just need to learn to live on the wild side. Isn't that right Havie Hav?" Travis responds, chuckling as he hears the two month old babbling, "You see? She agrees."

"Last time you snowboarded, you broke your leg," Annie remarks, eyes glaring at her son as Erin takes the snowsuit out of the diaper bag, "And the time before that, when you were doing parkour, you broke your arm and skinned your knee. You probably have scars for days."

He shrugs, "Every scar tells a story. And chicks dig scars."

"And I told you," Annie interjects, as Lindsay slides each of her baby's feet into the leg portion of the white snowsuit, "if you get hurt again and I have to go to the hospital, you're not doing any more of that crap and I mean it."

"Mom, I'm almost 19."

Lindsay puts her daughter's arms through the sleeves of the snowsuit, "She's only looking out for you Trav," Erin zips the snowsuit up, "If I was in the same situation, I would tell Haven the same thing. That stuff is dangerous and you've already been hurt multiple times," Lindsay lifts her daughter up and lays her against her arm, throwing the faux fur hood over her small head, "she's only looking out for you, like mothers do."

"Hand over the baby," Travis asserted, wiggling his fingers in anticipation, "And I get that, I really do," he's handed the baby and he bounces her in his arms, "but I just feel like my mom is still treating me like a kid. I'm an adult. I'm a big boy. I have a job. I pay for all the equipment needed for my risk-taking adventures; it's how I like to have fun. I think it's about time she cut the umbilical cord," he looks down at the baby's face, "Isn't that right Havie Hav?"

"Um, I'm right here," Annie interjects, waving her hand in the air.

With the baby positioned in one arm, holding her against his side, Travis grabs his skateboard with the other hand, "What's up Jay?" Annie and Erin notice Halstead walking down the stairs, completely ready to head out, holding the empty car seat in his left hand, "What's up man? How've you been?" He pats the teenager on the back.

"Can't complain," Travis shrugs.

Jay leans forward, becoming eye-level with the baby whose head currently laid up against Travis' shoulder, "And what's up with you Havie?" His voice is light and when the baby coos in response, he smiles, "Is that right?" He replies as if he understood what her coo meant; Haven just smiles and coos once again, "That's my girl."

As Erin zips up her coat, she takes a hold of the carrier from inside the car seat, "Let's go." She pulls the keys out of her pocket and tosses them to her husband before following him, Annie and Travis out of the door, "You know Erin," she hears Annie's voice from behind her as she locks the front door, "I spoke with Kim on the phone."

"I didn't even know you had her number," Erin skeptically turns to face her friend.

"We got into contact with each other because we both think you need to get out," Annie simply states, following behind her son and friends towards the car, "And we're going to take you out tonight; no ifs, ands or buts about it. You're going out with us."

"I don't know about that," Erin replies, opening the back door, making it easier for Jay to lean in and connect the car seat to its base, "I think you should go Er." She's hesitant to respond, so he continues, "I think you deserve to get out. You need to get out."

"I do get out," she argues, crossing her arms.

"I mean without the baby," he corrects, scooping her from Travis' arms to lay her in the car seat, "I meant you need to go out without the baby. You've been cooped up in this house since you were released from the hospital. You only venture out occasionally, and it's with the baby."

"If I go," she starts, watching him buckle her in the car seat, "who is going to watch her?"

He momentarily takes a glance over his shoulder to peer at her, "You do realize that you're not a single parent, I'm your husband and I'm her dad."

"Yeah, but you've never watched her by yourself before."

Jay fastens the last buckle and tugs it to ensure it's tight, "I'll invite Ruzek and Mouse to come over. Three men and one baby, it can't be that hard."

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with that," Erin sighs, opening the passenger door to hop in, "Ruzek and Haven don't see eye to eye right now."

"Wait," Annie laughs, interjecting from the backseat; she's currently sitting behind the driver –Jay- with her son in the middle between her and the car seat, "A grown man and a baby do not see eye to eye. What does that even mean?"

"You have to see it to understand," Erin chuckles, looking back to glance at her friend, "It's like…if you want to see her cry instantly or like make facial expressions as if she's in literal pain, just hand her over to her Uncle Adam," she notices Travis making silly faces at her baby in the car seat and as she watches him, she continues, "Adam is determined to get her to like him though. He comes over a lot just to hold her, and I don't mind when people hold her, I don't, okay let me correct that last statement, I don't mind when people I know hold her, it's just," she looks straight and stares at the passing scenery, "when he holds her and she starts crying, she does it in this way that breaks my heart and makes me want to wring Adam's neck. They say it's a phase and Adam wants to break her out of it, but my god Annie, you have to see it."

Jay sighed, pulling the car to a stop at the red light, "Alright, we'll watch her and I'll try to keep him from holding her; no promises though. Just give us a chance. I don't think it'll be hard."

"That's only because I've always been with you. You've always had me right there in case you messed up or needed help with anything," the worry is evident in her voice, "I realized just how hard taking care of a baby really is when you went back to work. It's not easy."

"I won't be alone though; I'll have Ruzek and Mouse," he reminds.

"Technically, you only have Mouse since Adam can't touch her without making everything worse," she jokes, feeling it ease her worries and lighten the tone in her voice, "Mouse is good with the baby," she says, convincingly; trying to persuade herself to give in, "He's good with the baby and he seems comfortable with her."

"Very," Jay cosigns.

"And he knows how to comfort her."

"He does," he nods along.

"It's just I've never left her since she was born," her concerns are expressed and Annie's heart goes out to her closest friend, "She has never been away from me. She has either been in the same room or down the hall from me, never away," her voice lowers slightly, "Never away."

"Eventually, she will be."

She turns to face her husband, "But eventually doesn't have to be today."

"Er," he parallel parks the vehicle, and completely turns to face her, "just think of it as a test round; see how long you can go without her. Practice before returning to work. And you can call to check in or video chat in, whatever preference you have; it's only for a few hours. Go out with your friends, have fun, after everything you've been through, you deserve it."

Erin sighs, a strand of hair blows out of her face, "I guess I'm going."

"You won't regret it!"

Annie is excited; she honestly cannot remember the last time she went out with Erin without the baby. Don't get her wrong, she loved Haven as if she was her own, but since Erin's daughter and her son were in two separate generations, had two very distinct age differences and one was able to watch and take care of himself while the other wasn't, it made finding time for the two mothers to hang out difficult. They're sitting in the warm car in front of the park, each person regretting the moment they have to open the door and step out into the cold. Jay reaches for the handle, choosing to be the first one to embrace the cold, and before he opens the door, he spots a food truck, "We should get a hotdog."

Erin is distracted, fastening and adjusting the waist buckle of the baby carrier around her back, "I'm up for whatever; that sounds fine to me," she lets the body of the carrier hang down in the front of her lower waist, "Can you pass her to me Travis?"

"Sure," he replies, unstrapping and lifting the baby from her car seat.

Lindsay takes a hold of her daughter and brings her up against her chest, "We'll meet you over there. I want my usual," Erin separates the baby's legs so they spread around her waist.

"Do you two want anything?" Jay asks, glancing to the back seat.

"We're good," Annie answers, "We ate before we came over."

As she firmly holds the baby against her chest, the body of the carrier has been lifted over Haven's back. One strap has been placed around her left shoulder and another strap has been placed around the right. She sees her husband outside; he's jogging over to the food truck, money in hand and face downwards to block the cold wind. As both of Erin's hands go behind her neck to buckle the chest strap, she hears Annie talking, "I just noticed this," she's pointing towards the window on the side of the baby's car seat, "Have you had this the whole time?"

Lindsay takes a look over her shoulder, noticing what her friend is pointing at, "I actually ordered that the day we brought Haven home from the hospital. People drive like maniacs!" Erin exclaimed, becoming immediately irritated at the thought, "So now there's a baby on board sticker in that window and that means that if someone rear ends my car I'm going to beat the shit out of them and happily go to jail for it."

Annie opens the door and smirks, "Remind me not to mess with you."

"You can mess with me all you want," Erin remarks, opening up her own door, "the problem comes when someone messes with my kid."

"That's the mama bear instinct in you and I completely understand how you feel," before slamming the car door shut, Annie reaches her hand out to pat her son's shoulder, "that's how I feel about my little headache right here."

"I love you too mom," he chuckles.

Now that she's standing, Erin readjusts the waistband of the carrier and the straps around her shoulders as her husband walks back over, holding two hotdogs. She takes a hold of her hotdog as the group begins walking along the paved pathway. She doesn't eat it right away; it's a bit difficult to do so while the baby is strapped to her chest. She holds it, they'll find a park bench eventually and she'll sit as she eats. Watching Travis skateboard ahead of them, the trio of adults follow casually behind him, walking and taking in Mother Nature as they enjoy the brisk morning air; the breeze blows through their hair, "Annie, I forgot to mention, you know how I go back to work in a few weeks and need someone to watch Haven for us. Jay and I did talk about it and we do want you to watch her."

"Oh thank you," she's excited and bouncing with joy, "I'll do a great job; I promise."

"We do have a few rules," Jay remarks, using the napkin to wipe the mustard off the side of his mouth, "You have to watch her at our house," she nods and he's nudged to continue, "And there's one other thing, no Charlie."

Annie's head whips in the direction of Erin; she throws her hands into the air, "Don't look at me. Jay's the one that said it."

"Charlie is irrelevant," Annie defended, turning to face her friend's husband, "I don't want anything to do with him."

Halstead tosses his trash in the bin as they pass it, "I need a better reassurance than that."

"He won't be around Jay. You have my word."

"Finally a bench," Erin announces, rushing over towards it; she manages to take a seat before anyone else could beat her to it. By the time, Jay and Annie casually reach her, she has the baby out of the carrier, sitting on her mother's knee with her back leant against Erin's chest. She has her hotdog open and she's biting into her savory lunch as Annie takes a seat next to her, "Look at her. She appears so alert. Her eyes are just roaming in whatever direction she sees movement."

With Haven's back still leant against her mother's chest, Erin quietly enjoys her hotdog. She hears Jay and Annie making casual chitchat beside her, but she finds no interest in joining in until the growl in her tummy is settled. She finishes her last bite, dabs her mouth with the napkin Jay offered her, and started people watching with her two month old. They watched Travis skateboard back and forth; he seemed to be enjoying himself and even though Haven wasn't doing anything, she seemed to be as well, especially when a kid wanders over. He's no more than three years old and his parents seem to be nowhere in sight; the little boy strolls towards the baby sitting on Erin's knee, "Hi," the toddler greeted.

"Hi buddy," Erin replies, using Haven's hand to wave at the little boy.

"She's a baby," it was a little hard to understand due to the cuteness in his mispronunciation of words, but after listening carefully, Annie picked up on it.

"She sure is; she's a little baby. Are you?"

"No," the boy shakes his head and giggles, "I a big boy."

"That's right," Jay offers his hand and the little man high fives it.

The toddler stands by Haven, his small hand on Erin's knee as he babbles to the infant; his words are a mixture between clear English and whatever baby talk that seems to bridge babies and toddlers together. Haven is wide-eyed, smiling as she always does, and watching the three year old bounce around in excitement. Erin finds it adorable; she's distracted by his energized presence, while her husband is glancing around the park, in search of the boy's parents.

"Oh my gosh," a woman is out of breath by the time she reaches them, "I am so sorry! My husband and I literally turned our heads for one second," she watches as the lady's husband scoops the toddler up into his arms, "I am so sorry that he disturbed you."

"It's okay," Erin and Jay say in unison.

The man swings his three year old onto his back and the toddler hooks his arms around his dad's neck, "We should be getting out of here. Sorry again."

"I guess we should catch up with Travis," Annie speaks up, pointing down the paved pathway towards her son attempting to perform tricks on his skateboard.

Erin settles the baby back in the carrier and straps her back up. Her little head lies against her mom's chest and her eyes remain open; the smile is no longer on her face, but now a peaceful and content expression took its place. Between the snowsuit with the white faux hood, the hat snuggled on her head and the body heat radiating off of her mother, the little girl was warm and cozy. Jay's hand is intertwined with his wife's hand while her other palm rests against the carrier, rubbing circles into her daughter's back. Annie enviously watches the couple and the other old and young couples that pass them during their walk; she sighs out in irritation, "I see all these cute couples out here," she's talking out loud as her eyes glaze over in thought, "and all I can think about is how all the good men are either taken or dead."

The walk is quiet and peaceful and when Erin looks at the expression on her best friend's face, she decides to chime in, "You'll find your special person."

"I doubt that," Annie laughs without any hint of amusement in the chuckle, "I'll probably just give up on guys and dating. Every guy I've ever dated was never a fit. They either never understand me, not sensitive or not affectionate enough. One guy didn't do kids so once I told him about Travis that was over. Another guy was a mama's boy and practically dragged his mother on every date we had. Guys I date are either assholes who tell me what my job as woman is or their jerks that date me and like three other women at the same time."

"Mind if I chime in," Jay slowly raises his hand and when Annie cautiously nods, he proceeds to give her a few words of advice, "There are always a few bad apples in the bunch but you can't let them represent the entire male population. Maybe instead of complaining about the guys you are attracted to and go out with, you should amend your interests. It's no coincidence that every guy you've been out with was either a criminal or an asshole, and it'll come to a point where you can't really keep blaming them. Instead of focusing on what you can't change, maybe you should focus on what you can and reevaluate your standards."

"Jay is right," Erin agrees.

Annie nods her head, taking in his words of advice as the three continue walking forward, watching the start of snow fall from the sky. Even on one of the coldest days of the winter, the sun still managed to shine over the city of Chicago. The snow fell lightly and began to cover the pavement of the walking trail; it was a beautiful sight –absolutely breathtaking. By tonight, the ground should be covered with the white snow of the winter. Erin looks up at her husband; if it were only them, it would be a date, walking under the noon sunlight while snow flurries fell was a bit romantic. One snowflake seemed to fall onto the tip of the baby's nose –now pink due to the cold temperature- and melt away the second contact was made. Her nose scrunches together and the facial expression appearing on Haven's face warms her heart, causing for Erin to press a kiss against the knitted hat snuggled on her daughter's head. She remains distracted by Haven's love of the winter; she's wide-eyed, open-mouthed and taking in the snow that falls against the ground. She likes it. She's amazed by it. And if it wasn't for Annie suddenly taking off running, she would have remained captivated by her daughter's pale skin, rosy cheeks and fascinated expression. Lindsay looks to her left; Jay is no longer there, he's running behind Annie. She looks forward, seeing her husband and friend running towards Travis. He's on the ground, lying on his back after a nasty fall off of his skateboard. Palms lay against his face, as he embarrassingly covers it in order to obscure his vision from the eyes of the passing bystanders.

With her hand pressed against the back of the baby's head, Erin holds it securely as she jogs over. She doesn't want the baby's head bouncing up and down as she ran up to Travis. Jay pulled the 18 year old to his feet, "I'm fine," he groans, rubbing his hand against his knee, "I'm fine. I'm alright."

"You need to be more careful," Jay asserts, patting the young man's back.

Crossing her arms irritatingly, Annie sighs, "I keep telling him that."

"I promise to be better by the time I teach Havie."

Jay takes a hold of Travis' skateboard from Annie, "That's not happening."

"Yeah it is," Travis corrects, stretching the ache out of his legs, "I already ran it pass Erin."

After setting the skateboard beneath his arm, Jay looks over his shoulder, watching as his wife approached. The tip of her nose is pink and her skin is pale due to the cold temperature dropping every second. His eyes are questioning, brows creased and confused; she's smiling though and completely ready to explain, "Actually, I didn't agree to anything. If I recall correctly, I said none of that was happening."

Travis shrugs, "It was worth another shot." As he takes a step towards Jay, ready to grab his skateboard, sharp pain shoots through his ankle. He stumbles, but doesn't fall. His ankle twinges and his face grimaces.

"You're hurt," Annie sighs, stressfully rubbing her forehead.

He limps towards her, "I'm fine mom, I swear."

"I should take you to the hospital."

"I'm fine," he assures, taking his skateboard from Jay, "I just need to walk it off."

"We should get out of here," Annie whispers, looking over to her friends; they both nod, completely agreeing, understanding and ready for their walk to end, "It's getting colder anyway."

As they begin walking –Travis limping- in the direction the car is parked, Annie snatches the skateboard from her son. She holds it beneath her arm and prudently helps her son back to the car. Jay is leading the way, ensuring the path is clear and the ground isn't slippery. As Erin walks, she carefully unstraps the baby from the harness of the carrier, setting the two month old upon her hip, "Open the back door for me Jay," she calls out to her husband since he'll be the first to reach the car, "And when you start up the car, turn on the heat." Soon enough, her husband disappears from view after he quickened his walk towards the vehicle, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Travis answers, limping alongside Erin and his mother.

Lindsay shakes her head, switching her baby to the opposite hip, "Your face says otherwise."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Kind of…yeah."

"I'm hoping if I just walk it off, my ankle will start feeling better."

Erin wraps her free arm around his shoulders, "Let your mom take you to the hospital so you can get that foot checked out. If you don't, and something is wrong with it, you'll probably have to kiss all those crazy hobbies you do goodbye."

The trio finally reach the car; Jay's already inside, ignition started and heat filling the inside and only leaving through the crack of the car door he left open to make putting Haven in her car seat more easily accessible. Annie jogs around to the other side and slides into the middle, only choosing to allow her son to sit on the end because of his injured ankle. Lindsay leans into the car, and Annie helps to maneuver the baby in the seat comfortably, and once the buckles were hooked and Erin pulled back, the baby started crying. She had been an angel the whole time; never crying or making a fuss, but once she was strapped into the car seat, her bottom lip dropped and she started whining. Lindsay reaches into the passenger seat, "Here," she feels around the inside of the diaper bag, "that's her hungry cry."

"I'll feed her," Annie offers, taking the bottle from Erin, "Here you go mama," she settles the bottle in the infant's mouth and her cries are silenced the second she starts drinking.

During the ride home, with Annie angling the bottle further up so the baby can get every drop, she notices the flutter of her little eyes. She's fighting sleep. Shaking her head and knocking the nipple of the bottle out of her mouth. The back of her hands are brought up to rub against her sleepy eyes and she starts to fret –kicking her legs and raising her arms to stretch. Annie sets the almost empty bottle onto her lap, while her eyes remained trained on the baby, "Guess what Erin?" The excitement in Travis' voice is overwhelming and it fills the car as he leans forward to peer at Lindsay; he doesn't wait for her to respond, he simply continues, "I have a date tonight."

"A date," Erin shifts and turns around in her seat, "You're already dating. You're not that little boy who I used to chase around your grandma's house. What happened to my cute little buddy?"

"He grew into a handsome man," he egotistically replied.

Erin turns forward in her seat, "So, tell me about this girl."

"What do you want to know?"

"Has your mom met her?"

Travis looks at his mom with a smirk, "Yeah, she met her and she likes her; don't you Ma?"

"I guess she's alright. I barely know the girl," Annie adds, shrugging her shoulders in nonchalance, "She seems really sweet. Her name is Miranda and she's 18. The two of them are doing the cliché first date –dinner and a movie."

"Aw Jay," Erin excitedly hits against her husband's arm, "isn't that sweet? It's his first date and they're going to dinner and a movie. Remember our official first date?"

Jay laughs, and looks up into the rearview mirror to meet Travis' eyes, "Have fun kid."

"You know it."

By the time they arrive home Haven is still fighting the battle against sleep. Her little hands are balled into fists and she continuously rub against her eyes. The smoothness of the ride wasn't enough to rock her to sleep, but it remained enough to keep her quiet, however, the second Jay sets the car in park, she starts crying –wailing as loudly as her lungs allowed. She's fretting, squirming and kicking her little legs as her screams fill the confined space of the car. Jay is out of the car almost immediately after her cries start; he's at the backseat, unbuckling her car seat within seconds, "She's crying because she's sleepy, but she's fighting sleep. I don't get her sometimes."

"It's not just her," Annie responds, sliding out of the car after her son, "it's all babies. Falling to sleep when you're tired sounds so simple, but to kids, it's a whole new level of complicated."

"Tell us about it," Erin laughs, shutting her car door.

Annie withdraws her keys from her pocket, "We're about to get out of here. I'm going to run him to get his ankle checked out. I'll be here to pick you up at nine," she checks the time on her cell, "It's a little pass two."

"Alright, I'll be ready," Erin remarked; nodding along as Jay mouths that he's heading into the house with the dozing baby. Haven is quiet now; she's no longer fussy as her head lays against her dad's shoulder, warm beneath her faux fur hood. She watches her husband and baby disappear the second the front door closes, "Where are we going specifically?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I just want you to wear that sexy red dress."

Erin smiles, dimples piercing into her cheeks, resembling those of her daughter, "I don't know about that one. I still want to lose a few pounds. And not to mention, I doubt my husband will like all of this," she waves her hands around, presenting her body, "stuffed into that dress."

"What about the black one? The black one that comes to here," Annie responds, using her hands to show how far the black dress fell.

Erin rolls her eyes, "I'm a new mom. Do moms usually go out dressed like that?"

"Yeah, I do," Annie commented, "And if you don't want to wear the black one, wear that dark blue one; that one is really hot on you…like really, really hot on you."

"Thanks," Erin brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'll consider it. I should be getting in the house and see if Jay needs any help getting that little monster down for her nap."

Since it's too cold outside, Erin doesn't wait until Annie and Travis are in the car and driving off. Once they hugged goodbye, Lindsay already started making her way towards the house; she steps into her warm abode seconds afterwards and feels the chill on her skin begin to thaw. She honestly expected to walk into the house and hear a crying baby with her husband trying to shush her into silence; what she didn't expect to see when she walked into the living room was her husband sprawled out on his back asleep with the baby curled up sleeping on his chest. After taking a few adorable pictures of her two favorite people, she tiptoes out of the living room. Lindsay walks up the stairs, mind racing and trying to figure out what she can do to pass the time. She cleans for an hour. She watches television in her bedroom for another two. And she ends up dozing off for another three. By the time she wakes up, it's dark outside. The house is quiet and she realizes that her husband and the baby must still be asleep.

Lindsay walks down the stairs and quietly makes her way into the living room. She spots the infant curled into her dad's rising and falling chest; her little eyes are open, staring at her father as his low-volume snores fill the living room. Erin moves closer and she sees Haven's eyes avert from her dad to her mom, lighting up the second they register her mother's face. She gets happy. A dimpled grin appears on her mother's face as the baby waits to be picked up; Erin isn't fast enough, the little girl wants to be in her mom's arms now. She starts to fret. And once Erin lays down her daughter's alphabet blanket, she scoops the excited baby carefully into her arms, being careful not to wake up her exhausted husband. Erin puts the baby down onto the blanket, laying her on her stomach for her daily tummy time. It's cute –the image of mother and baby. As Haven lies on her tummy, her mother lays down on her back, next to her to watch. The eyes of her infant are focused on her, trained and staring into her mother's face; she's taking in every beauty mark, blemish and dimple pierced into her mother's cheeks. She's engrossed into the appeal of her mother's eyes, completely in love and entranced.

"Hi my baby," Erin coos, extending her hand to tap gently against the baby's nose; Haven smiles, her own dimples appearing to match those of her mother, "Havie!" The little girl smiles, coos and giggles portraying the literal version of innocence as she momentarily lifts her head –it's only for a few seconds and it's lowered right afterwards. Resting on the blanket, Haven's head is facing in the direction of her mother, she smiles and coos when Erin speaks, "Are you talking to me? What are you saying?"

Within a split second, the smile on Haven's face drops and her bottom lip pouts; they quiver. And before she's able to burst into tears and cry at the top of her lungs, Erin scoops her up. Lindsay is sitting up, cross-legged and stands the baby up onto her two feet. While holding her little hands, Haven's step reflexes kick in and while being held in a standing position in front of her mother on the spread out blanket; her feet barely lay down flat against the floor. She's wobbling, only being able to stay in an upright position because her mother is holding her hands, holding up the baby's weight. Haven's watery eyes dry as she looks at her mother with a small smile, "Hi," Erin greets, leaning forward to peck the baby's nose; she brings the baby in and holds her against her chest, "Mommy loves you so much."

"Daddy too."

Erin looks over to see her husband, now sitting up and watching her and the baby. The look in his eyes, the look of love and adoration he gives her as he gets up and crawls onto the blanket. She smiles and leans in to meet his lips, "I love you," he whispers, running his fingers through her hair, "and I love you too," he turns and presses a kiss against the baby's cheek. She smiles as Erin sets her back onto her feet, allowing her to bounce while Lindsay holds her by her hips. Mouth wide-open and her hand flies into her slobbery mouth, the parents laugh as their wide-eyed daughter stares at both of them.

"You know," Jay starts, taking a glance down at his watch, "Annie and Burgess will be here in less than an hour. It's a little after eight."

She sighs, "I can't believe I agreed to this," she hands the baby to her husband.

"You have nothing to worry about; you deserve this," Jay reminds her, holding the baby up in front of his face to face her mother, "You deserve this mommy," he makes his voice high-pitched as he mimics a little girl's tone, "Have fun tonight; daddy has everything under control."

Erin laughs, "You're a goofball."

"You're daughter has spoken Erin; you better go get ready."

"You know," she pushes herself onto her feet, "There's no vacation, no sick days or bonuses. Being a mom is a hard job, but I'm lucky to have such a great co-worker." Erin leans forward and pecks the top of her husband's head before running barefoot out of the living room, leaving Jay downstairs, sitting on the blanket and playing with the baby while she goes to shower.

Halstead focuses his attention back on the two month old in his arms. She's in a good mood as she continues to gnaw on her hand. Her own slob covers her tiny fingers and he opens his legs to lay her down on the blanket between them; she mindlessly continues sucking on four of her five fingers while staring up at the ceiling. As Jay watches her, he savors in this moment, this moment with his little girl innocently looking up and gnawing on her hand, "You'll never be too old to be daddy's little girl," he coos, adjusting the tiny striped socks on her feet, "I loved you since your first breath and I'll love you until my last."

Her hands are delicate as she stretches them up in the air. Jay leans forward and runs his nose against her much smaller one –she smiles, that toothless grin that melts both of her parents' hearts. When he picks her up again, he realizes just how light, small and fragile she feels; he knows she's strong, especially after coming into the world in such a life-threatening way. He brings her in against his hard chest, it doesn't offer her the same comfort as her mother's chest does, but it'll do. Jay takes in her smell; it's heavenly, it's that fresh baby smell. He lays her back down onto her back, and she resumes kicking her legs playfully. As her dad, he's her protector; Jay looks into her hazel eyes and he cannot imagine someone stripping the happiness, the innocence and the joy away from them. He'll protect that look for as long as he lives and he'll love her and her mother for a lifetime. He's captivated, completely entranced by her being. They created her –he and his wife- they made her; she's a living, breathing mixture of them.

His hands brush up against the few new strands of hair in her hair, the strands are now lightening and turning into a shade of blonde. While his wife is upstairs getting ready, he's downstairs enjoying the company of one of his favorite people. Jay leans forward again and rubs his nose against hers –she smiles. Rubbing noses together always pulls a guaranteed smile from her. It's adorable. And he'll do whatever it takes to keep a smile on her face. Jay leans in again, but before he's able to rub noses, he hears the doorbell ring.

"Jay, the door!" His wife shouts from upstairs.

He scans the living room and reaches to grab her hanging toy mat. The doorbell rings again as he sets the mat down onto the blanket and lays his daughter beneath the dangling toys. Haven's already stretched out hands unintentionally hit against the toys; she isn't doing it on purpose, but she's enjoying the effect it has when her hands hit it. She coos and babbles in response.

The doorbell rings again and before his wife can shout for him to get it, he's already opening the front door. It's Ruzek, Mouse and Burgess standing on the other side, shivering as the cold temperature obviously dropped once the sun went down. Before he can greet his friends, Burgess pushes him to the side and leads the two men in, "It took you long enough."

"Hey, you should be happy I answered," he remarked, closing the door behind them.

Burgess says nothing in response. She silently makes her way upstairs, knowing Erin is currently getting ready. In all honesty, when she entered the room, she expected to see Lindsay not even close to being ready, but she was mistaken. Erin is clothed, wearing a dark blue dress that clung to every curve. Her hair is in loose curls and she even has makeup on, but the obvious frown on her face and how she flops down to sit on the bed has Kim worried, "What's wrong?"

Lindsay slides one heel onto her foot, "My boobs are huge."

"I didn't think that was a problem," Kim chuckles, taking a seat next to her friend.

She slides on the other heel, "Look at me," Erin stands, and twirls irritatingly around in a circle.

"What about it? You look hot." Burgess compliments, taking off her own jacket to reveal herself in a bright red dress, "You're even slimming down."

"I'm still a few pounds over what I used to weigh pre-pregnancy."

Burgess pouts and crosses her arms over her chest, "If I had a baby ten weeks ago, I would love to look the way you're looking right now; you're hot!"

"It's not even about that. I don't care how I look!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"I'm leaving my baby!" She exclaims, circling her arms around her lower waist.

Burgess approaches her, "You're not leaving her," she rubs circles into her friend's back.

"I'm going somewhere. I'm leaving this house and she's not coming with me. That sounds like leaving her to me," Erin snaps, pacing nervously around her bedroom.

"She won't even know."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"I don't want you going out if you're going to be miserable."

"I need this," Erin whispers, looking up in the mirror to see the face of a woman, painted with makeup, reminding her of the woman she was before Haven, "I need this if I'm ever going to be okay to go back to work. I need this. However, since it's my first time," she turns around to face Kim, "Let's not stay out too long. Next time we go out we can extend the time."

"We won't. We'll leave once you're ready."

"Knock, knock," Annie announces, walking into the bedroom, "Wow," she takes in Erin's appearance, "you bounced back way faster than I did after I had Travis."

Erin smiles, a sentimental feeling swarming into her heart, "Hey Annie," she calls out, approaching her friend, "Sorry for always complaining every time you had to cancel plans or whined about a lack of sleep or never wanting to leave your son's side when we were teenagers. I get it now and I'm sorry that I didn't back then."

"No apology necessary," the two hug.

Both ladies pull away after seconds spent wrapped in a warm embrace. Erin clears her throat, runs her hands down her dress and leads her friends out of the room. Downstairs, they travel; being careful with each step they take in their high heels. Mouse is on the phone ordering pizza for him and the guys. Ruzek is sitting on the couch, flipping through channels and from his conversation with Kim earlier in the day; he's in search for the game. It's what the guys were planning to do –watch the game and eat pizza- while the ladies were out. Erin scans the room and spots her daughter in her bouncy chair, cooing and looking at the bright colored toys surrounding it. Her husband is over at the sink, she approaches him, and sees him scrubbing something out of his shirt, "What's that?"

"Your daughter spit up on me."

"Aw," Erin chuckles, leaning over to peck his cheek, "well it's time for us to head out."

"Have fun," Jay asserts, turning the faucet water off, "but not too much."

"I promise to try," Erin gives him a promising nod before walking over to Haven, "bye my baby." She leans over and pecks the little girl's cheek.

Lindsay grabs her jacket and patiently waits as she watches Ruzek and Burgess hug and kiss each other goodbye. She waits for what feels like an eternity; they're acting like they're never going to see each other again. They're whispering sweet nothings, hugging and kissing as everyone watches patiently. Soon enough Erin walks over to grab her, the sooner they leave, the sooner they'll get back. She's dragged completely out of the front door and once it closes, the men all turn to face each other. They're all alone at last. A grin stretches out on each one of their faces and before they can celebrate too much, a loud wail erupts from the baby; she's no longer bouncing, or interested in staring at the colors of her toys. She's fretting. Her legs are kicking and arms are flying around wildly. Her face is red and tears are pouring out of her eyes. Each guy makes eye contact with her before looking at each other. They approach the bouncy chair, and Jay looks up at Ruzek, "You pick her up. This is your chance to get on her good side."

"I know I can pick her up if I want to," he asserts frantically, scratching at the back of his head, "but I'm scared to break her. She's like a doll baby…a fragile doll baby. I might drop her."

Without listening to Adam's further excuses, Jay scoops her up, sliding her feet out of the leg holes carefully when he lifts her. He bounces her gently. He rocks her smoothly. She still screams. Her eyes are wide open and tears trail down her cheeks as her head lays against her dad's chest, wailing and hollering, pleading with someone to tend to her, to help her in her time of need. She continues to scream and Jay continues to rock her, humming a tune her mother normally hums to her only to find out it's not working.

"Do something!" Mouse exclaims, nervously. He's pacing circles around Jay and Haven.

"I don't know what to do," Jay says through gritted teeth, "If I did, don't you think I would have done it already?"

Haven is bounced around in her dad's muscular arms and her cries are so loud they don't hear the front door open as Erin re-enters. She's in search of her purse –she left it. Walking further into the house, she runs upstairs to grab it before poking her head into the living room, observing as each man panics about what to do to quiet the baby. Each guy sports a panicked look as her baby's lungs scream out; she's in pain. She's screaming in a way that is heart rendering to everyone within earshot. She needs help. She needs comfort. She needs her mother. Erin approaches her husband and scoops the baby from his arms, "Er, I don't know what's wrong with her," he sounds frantic, "she just started crying once you guys left. She already ate. She didn't use the bathroom. She just woke up from a nap. I don't know what's wrong."

"Take notes," she asserts confidently, walking her inconsolable baby over to the couch.

Erin carefully takes a seat on the couch, being mindful of her dress as she does so. Laying the baby down on the cushion on her back in front of her, Erin grabs her chubby legs and begins moving them around, in sort of a pedaling a bicycle type motion. As she does the motion, she looks up at the guys, "Haven just has gas and it hurts. She's having a stomach ache and she just needs to let the gas out. Sometimes babies need a little help," and if on cue, Haven's gas is released, almost immediately silencing the little girl's cries, "And just remember," she continues the leg motion until she hears the car horn honk, "that she's a baby and her only way of telling you guys that she wants or needs something is through crying, so have a little patience with her. Babies can sense your panic; they know when you're on edge and antsy. Just relax," she lifts Haven and hands her over to Mouse's open arms, "if you guys need me, my cell will be on," she throws a wave of the hand over her shoulder, grabs her purse and then is out of the door again –this time, she's not coming back for a couple of hours.

"How did Erin know that?" Ruzek is frozen still, completely surprised at how quick Lindsay took care of the baby, "We would have never guessed that was the problem."

Bringing the little girl against his chest, Mouse asked, "What did we get ourselves into?"

"Do you think I should give them a call?" Erin questions, looking between her friends from her seat in the back, middle, "You should have heard her crying. I should call to make sure everything is okay, right? Or they might have questions I can answer? Jay has never been with her by himself, and with Mouse and Ruzek there, you might as well say he's by himself," she's rambling; her nerves obviously appearing in the quickness of her words and the waver in her voice, "I shouldn't really worry though, right? Jay is with her; he's her dad, he'll know everything to do. I know that, but I'm still worried."

"Erin, relax!" Annie shouts, cutting her friend off, "Let's change the subject. Let's think about something else besides babysitting, Haven and whatever is going on at your house."

She nods, "You're right. What should we talk about?"

"As you know Adam and I decided not to have any kids," Kim interjects, biting her lip as she struggles to think of the words to say next, "and I still don't know how I feel about that. He's made enough sacrifices for me and I want to make this one for him, but I don't know if I can."

Annie interjects back into the conversation, "Can we all agree that once we get to the club there is to be no more talk about the men and the children either in our lives or not?"

"Yeah," Lindsay whispers, staring down at her phone wallpaper; it's a picture of her and Haven, and in the picture, Erin was mimicking the facial expression her daughter was making unintentionally. She's lost in the phone; she didn't even hear what Annie and Kim had said; she's too entranced by the perfection within the photo until it's snatched away.

"I'll put your phone in my purse," Burgess asserts, tossing it into her clutch, "You won't be able to have fun if your head isn't in it."

"You're right," Erin releases a deep breath, closes her eyes and attempts to clear her mind.

The remainder of the ride is filled with gossip and laughter; it's the typical girls' night out. And Annie is determined to find herself a date tonight and since both Erin and Kim are taken, they agreed to be her wing women. This night out was termed by Burgess as Operation: Find Annie a Man. And once Annie parks the car, operation find Annie a man was a go. The girls looped arms, Erin in the middle of the two, and together they walked into the club. The streaming lights beamed while the bass of the music shook the ground and each of the women were greeted with staffers of the club throwing party beads around their necks, welcoming them into the establishment. The party beads didn't seem to faze Annie and Kim right away, but the reminder got to Erin. As her friends continue walking further into the club, Erin stops; she snatches the beads from around her neck and throws them onto the floor, "I can't wear those," she asserts loud enough for her friends to hear over the music, "I can't pretend that wearing those are okay."

Kim takes hers off next, "I'm right there with you," she throws them onto the floor. The two women look over to Annie, watching as she followed their lead and did the same.

"Now," Erin takes a hold of her friends' hands, "we can finally have a good time!"

"Let's go to the bar!" Burgess shouts, tugging her friends in its direction, "And I'm so happy you stopped breastfeeding," she pushed through the crowd of people blocking the bar, "because now you can drink and the first round is on me in celebration of the new mommy finally getting out of the house without the baby!" Kim orders the drinks and the bartender quickly makes them, trading the cash for the drinks, she hands one to Erin, "Here you go."

"We're taking shots," Lindsay whispers, looking down at the glass; she hasn't taken a shot since before she was pregnant, almost a year ago. Her baby was two months, and the nine months she was pregnant, she didn't drink; that was definitely almost a whole year.

"Annie isn't," Kim responds, handing Annie a virgin martini.

She takes a hold of her offered beverage, "No fair."

"I figured since this was your idea then that makes you the designated driver," Kim explains, lifting her own shot glass, "And you need to be sober enough to find Mr. Right. We don't need drunk you making the decisions for sober you."

"Kim makes a good point," Erin chimed in.

"I always make good points."

Lindsay raised her glass, "Cheers to that!"

"Should I make a toast?"

Erin shakes her head, "You don't need to make a toast."

"I'm going to make a toast," Burgess convinces herself, standing in the center of her friends as she raises her glass up in the air, "I toast to me and my man and the fact that we're going to get married. I toast to Annie finding a new stepdad for her son tonight," they laugh and shake their heads, "And I toast to my best friend Erin, her husband and my baby."

Before the glass touches Erin's lips, her brows crease and she interrupts the toast, "You're baby?"

"Don't ruin the moment." Kim scolds, extending her glass towards them, "I wish all of us good health, wealth and happiness! Cheers!" Their glasses cling against one another before Erin and Kim throw their heads back to take the shot. Annie enviously watches as she sips her martini.

Halstead ties the drawstring to his sweatpants before searching through his dresser for a t-shirt. The shirt he wore previously had baby spit up on it and while he tried to scrub it out, it still held a faint smell of the puke. Most of his lounging shirts were in the hamper; Erin always seems to wear them before he even gets a chance. Finally finding an old, worn one, he throws it on. The doorbell rings and Jay is in no rush to get it; he knows it's the pizza and Mouse is answering it. Ruzek is in the living room with the baby; he's watching her as she lays on her back on the alphabet blanket. He's nervous. He's counting down the seconds until either Mouse or Jay return to the living room. Adam knows his friends are only a literal voice call away, but he still found himself on edge and nervous when left alone with the baby. He couldn't afford for anything to happen to her while she was in his care so when she started trembling, he panicked, "JAY!" Halstead was putting on a pair of black socks when he heard his name again, "JAY! MOUSE! Something is wrong with the baby!"

Dropping both feet onto the ground, Jay hops up in a split second. He hears the front door shut and listens as Mouse's feet run against the floor below. Jay jumps over his clothes on the ground as he races to the staircase, "I think she's having a seizure!" Adam shouts, pacing the living room. Jay almost falls down the stairs; he's skipping steps and jumps down the remainder when it feels like he isn't moving fast enough. As Jay's socks slide across the linoleum in the kitchen, he almost runs into Mouse and the pizza was close to dropping as both men raced to the living room. Jay hasn't taken in a breath; he can't breathe until he sees her. His brain is formulating every possible scenario that could have happened; he's scared. This happened on his watch; Erin would never, in a million years, forgive him. They enter; both expecting to see her in Adam's arms and when she isn't there, Jay panics; he doesn't know where she is. All he can see is straight and when Adam points towards the blanket, he spots her, "Haven," he crawls towards her, heart and mind instantly calming down at the sight of her, "Ruzek."

"Yeah," Adam whispers, watching his friend's face turn from worry to irritation, "is everything okay? Should I call an ambulance? Want me to call Erin?"

Jay scoops the baby up into his arms, "She's not having a fucking seizure!" Completely out of breath from the panic, he takes a seat on the arm of the chair, cradling the baby against his chest, "Damn it Ruzek! You nearly gave me a heart attack! She's having hiccups! Hiccups! Haven't you had some before? Shit." His hands are shaking from the fear, the panic and the distress all coursing through his body at the same time, "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Adam whispers sincerely, "I honestly thought something was wrong. She stopped cooing and kicking her legs and then she started, I don't know, sporadically moving, trembling. I panicked."

Jay lays Haven over his shoulder, patting and rubbing her back as the hiccups continue, "You scared the shit out of me."

"Man, I'm really sorry."

Jay nods, accepting the apology as he stands up; the baby's hiccups has stopped and he needs to go upstairs to throw his clothes into the hamper. With the baby on his hip, he goes; he absolutely does not want her out of his sight right now, especially while Mouse and Ruzek are currently distracted with grabbing slices of pizza.

Lindsay slams down her second shot, the glass now empty, and a euphoric rush courses through her body. Kim's second shot is slammed down next and her face is scrunched together as the substance burns itself down her throat. Annie sipping the remaining drops of her martini from her glass as she sways her hips to the music, "I want to dance!" Her eyes are closed as she rocks back and forth, off beat, to the fast beats of the song. She reopens her eyes, "I want to dance!" Her glass is slammed down on top of the bar before she grabs Erin's wrist and begins tugging her towards the dance floor, Lindsay subsequently grabs Kim's arm and pulls her along too.

The music moves them around like puppets, pulling their strings to strike different dance moves according to the beat of the song. Erin's head rocking, bashing so hard her brain is screaming for a break. Everyone is jumping, pumping their fists in the air and that euphoric rush is back. Erin missed this. She forgot how fun this is. She forgot that she does have a life outside of being a wife and mother. The strobing lights flicker over the wall-to-wall dancers as they move throughout the dance floor and the bar area, casting a shadow above them every few seconds. It's exciting; it's reinvigorating. Erin does miss her baby, but she didn't even realize how much she missed this. She missed time out with her girls. She missed only caring about herself. She missed letting herself completely go and enjoying her time being carefree. She is in her own world, bobbing her head, jumping up and down and pounding her fist to the intense beat of the song. She doesn't need to be bothered, but Kim doesn't get the hint. Burgess grabs her wrist, stopping her from dancing and pointing towards a guy, watching them, as he leans against a wall. Kim comes close to Erin's ear so she's able to hear her, "I think he's checking Annie out."

"I think he's cute," Annie shouts over the music.

Erin turns to her friend, "Go talk to him," she asserts as if it was just that easy.

"I'm scared."

Lindsay rolls her eyes, "No you're not. Go ahead, now is your chance."

"What if he doesn't like me?"

"…then he'll turn you down," Erin remarks, shrugging her friend's worry off, "Look, worst case scenario, he'll turn you down and best case scenario, he'll ask you out. Just early today you were talking to me and Jay about being lonely and giving up on men. What do you have to lose?"

"You didn't have to put it like that," Annie states, watching as the guy's two friends join him, "Oh, look, now his friends came over. I can't do it now, especially if he turns me down. That'll be so humiliating!"

Burgess asks, "What if we go over with you?"

"You'll do that?"

"We're your wing women, remember? That's why we're here, besides getting me out of the house to get a break from mommy duties," Erin nudged her side, "Now stand up straight, lead the way and walk over there to claim your man." She pats her back assertively.

"You guys don't understand. I'm not smooth. I'm not smooth at all."

Erin assures, "You're fine Annie."

"I'm awkward. My mouth gets dry. I can't think straight. Guys, me talking to cute guys are a serious issue. I can't."

"Yes you can," Erin gently pushes her friend in the man's direction, "Now go over there and claim your man Annie before someone else does!"

Annie leads the way, occasionally looking over her shoulder to ensure herself that Erin and Kim are following behind her. She swallows nervously and approaches the guy, standing in front of him and looking everywhere, but at the man's eyes, "Hi," it's him who speaks first.

Erin shoves her friend, reminding her to say something. Annie looks up quick, "Hi," she brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm Annie, this is Kim, and the girl who rudely hit me is Erin."

"I'm Todd," he introduced before pointing towards his two friends beside him, "And these two guys here are David and Marcus." The two men nod towards the women, "So what can I do for you Annie?"

"Uh, um," her mouth is dry; she's fumbling over her words. All of her thoughts are gone and her own mind is blank, "I…uh," she's looking to her friends for help.

"Annie likes you," Kim chimed in, saving the day.

"She wants your number," Erin added, "She wants to go out with you."

"Is she going to talk on the date?" Todd joked, smiling as Annie blushes in embarrassment; she nods, giving him an answer, "Okay, let me see your phone." Silently she reaches into her clutch and hands him her cell, he puts in his number and extends the device back to her, "Give me a call…or a text, depending on if you're up to talking or not."

"Okay," she manages to say.

"That was painful to watch," Kim whispers to Erin, earning chuckles from David and Marcus who overheard.

"Would you ladies like to hit the dance floor?" David asks; Todd's eyes are still on Annie and once she agrees, he takes her hand and leads the way. The four friends follow behind, bouncing and bobbing their heads to the music.

Ruzek is holding up the crying baby, his arms are extended as he climbs each stair carefully. The smell of her dirty diaper fills his nose as he rushes her towards the nursery. The light is already on; Mouse is in the room searching for her diapers while Jay checks the rest of the house. Halstead knows that Erin bought more, but he just didn't know where she put them. Haven cried louder. And Ruzek didn't know if the baby was crying because of her diaper or because he was holding her, maybe it's a combination between the two. He rushes across the room and lays her down delicately onto the changing table, "Guys! Her face is turning red and she's crying louder."

"Did you find any Mouse?" Jay shouts from the master bedroom.

Mouse closes the drawers to Haven's dresser, "No! I'll check the guest room."

"Don't leave me with her," Ruzek begged, stepping away from the changing table.

The baby is on her back, dressed in her lime green onesie and kicking her legs while her small fists clench. Her mouth is wide open, revealing her pink gums as she cries louder. Tears stream down her cheeks and Adam starts to panic. Mouse completely ignores his earlier plea and leaves the room to continue looking for her diapers, "Why do I always get stuck with the kid? I don't know what to do! JAY! What do I do?"

"Start taking her out of her onesie," he ordered, popping his head into the nursery, before disappearing once again, "I'm checking the bathroom. If it's not there, we'll have to improvise!"

Unbuttoning the three buttons hooking the onesie together, Adam slowly pushes the fabric of her onesie up her stomach, revealing the heavily, filled diaper. He reaches for the wipes in the drawer beneath the changing table and withdraws a few. After laying them down near her feet, he peels back the adhesive of her diaper and almost instantaneously gags after opening it. Ruzek's face is twisted and contorted into a look of disgust as he grabs her ankles to start wiping, "As if I needed another reason not to have a kid, I just got it," the baby stops crying; her hand is in her mouth and she quietly watches Ruzek clean her up. Feeling a little bit better, she coos and kicks her legs, "Guys, hurry up!" He tosses the diaper into the nearby trashcan, "This kid is being very impatient! I think she's cursing me out," Adam worries after examining her facial expression. Her face went from a look of content to annoyance when her diaper wasn't replaced with a new one, "This baby is definitely cursing me out in her head!"

"No she isn't," Jay laughs, following behind Mouse into the nursery.

Adam scans their hands, "I don't understand. Where's the diaper?"

"We couldn't find one," Mouse answered, holding up some paper towels and tape, "but I have an idea. I babysat for my cousin once. The kid is nine now, but he survived me babysitting so I can't be that bad. Watch, hand it to me Jay," he extends his hand towards Halstead and his friend hands him one of Erin's sanitary napkins; he opens it, "We have to improvise."

Jay watches from over Mouse's shoulder, "Are you sure this won't irritate her?"

"Nope."

"Will it stay?"

"Yeah, that's what the tape is for."

"What if she goes to the bathroom again?"

Mouse speaks in confidence, "That's what all of these paper towels are for; watch and learn."

After another two hours well-spent at the club, the ladies realized it was time to call it a night. After bidding farewell to their new friends, Annie promising Todd she'll give him a call tomorrow, they set the GPS for Erin's house. Annie as their designated driver carefully abided by the laws of the road to ensure she didn't get pulled over; even though she had two tipsy detectives in her car, she still didn't want to take the chance. Erin leaned her head back, mentally stuck between sober and tipsy; she wasn't drunk, but if she stayed longer, she sure would have been. Lindsay kicked her feet up in the seat, "I had a really good time," she leans her head against the window, "Thanks for dragging me out of the house! I didn't realize how much I needed that," her body felt loose as her eyes closed to enjoy the peace and quiet, "I had a really great time, but now I'm ready to get back into mommy mode."

"I hope your house is still standing," Kim jokes; she's far more intoxicated than everyone else.

Annie adds, "I hope nothing caught on fire."

"I hope the baby didn't catch on fire," Burgess exclaims, earning chuckles from the women in the car, "I hope everyone's still alive. I hope poor Adam doesn't have nightmares tonight."

Their jokes continue until Annie parks the car in front of Erin's house and while she normally would have headed straight home after Erin and Kim got out of the car, she was too curious about the state the house was currently in after the men's night of babysitting. Linking arms and sending up silent prayers, each lady entered the house, starting with Erin and ending with Annie. It's quiet, absolutely too quiet to be filled with three men and a baby. The women kick off their high heels and walk down the hallway barefoot, "Oh my goodness," Erin whispers, taking in the sight of her living room.

Toys were everywhere. Toys that had already been in the living room were now accompanied by toys they normally kept in the nursery. Mouse was passed out on the floor, surrounded by doll babies and stuffed animals. Jay is asleep on the couch; legs open as his head is thrown back. The television remote rests on his thigh. And then there's Ruzek who is passed out in the arm chair; his snores were the only noises filling the house, and drowning out the sounds of her baby cooing. Haven is the only one awake out of them; she's lying on her back on the blanket beside a sleeping Mouse. Her legs are kicking and her arms are stretched out and open. She's fretting. If they didn't come in now, she would have started crying soon and waking up everyone in the room. Her little lungs had a way of overpowering all voices and filling up any room, no mater the size. Erin tiptoes barefoot over to scoop her baby up and once she's in her mother's arms, she silences herself. She's content. Erin kisses her baby's cheek, "Did you have a good time?" Haven coos after being laid against her mother's chest.

Kim is sneaking pictures of each of the men as they sleep; all of them are completely worn out and exhausted from babysitting a two month old infant. Erin walks over to the arm of the chair, her hand running up and down her daughter's back and she finds her hand increasing more pressure when she feels a bulge through the onesie, "What is this?" Lindsay lifts the edge of the onesie to feel the fabric of paper towels beneath it. She walks back over to the blanket and lays the baby back down, nervously unbuttoning the onesie and sighing in irritation at what she finds, "Come here," she waves her friends over, "They made a diaper out of a paper towel, a pad and tape," she presents the men's creative work, "Annie, can you go upstairs, go in the baby's closet, top shelf and grab a pamper out of the box." Her friend snickers as she walks away to retrieve a diaper, and when she hears Erin shout, "Wake up!" She rushes so she can hear how they explain this.

The men practically jump awake; Mouse instantly pushes himself up onto his knees, Jay sits up, ready to fight whoever was the cause of the disturbance and the disruption of his sleep and Ruzek immediately jumped to his feet and acted as if he never even fell asleep. Erin gives her husband a forced smile as she points to the made-up diaper taped to her baby, "I can explain," he climbs off the couch and takes a seat by her and the baby on the floor, "We couldn't find the diapers so we had to improvise."

"Here you go Erin," Annie arrives just in time to hand her friend a diaper.

"The fabric of paper towels can irritate her down there," Erin calmly informs him, as she expertly changes the baby's diaper without even looking, "Paper towels and sanitary napkins aren't meant to be used as diapers, but you all get points for creativity and improvisation."

"So," Kim speaks up, lifting the cold pizza box to grab a slice, "How was it?"

"Exhausting…" Mouse is the first to answer.

Jay nods to agree, "I honestly think it would have been easier to watch her by myself. These two made it more tiring than it needed to be."

"Not me, you mean Ruzek," Mouse defended.

The conversation breaks into the events of the night for the Babysitting Trio, including Adam freaking out over changing her diaper. Kim bites into her pizza and leans against her fiancé's side, "I wish I could have seen it. How do you think you did Adam?"

"I think I did fine."

And somewhere in the conversation Erin disappears upstairs with the baby to get her ready for sleep. She only reappears when the baby is dressed in her nighttime onesie. The baby is rocked side to side in her mother's arms as Halstead boldly disagrees with Adam's earlier statement, "How about you be the judge on how Ruzek did Kim? Ruzek mistakenly thought Haven was having a seizure when she was really just hiccupping." Burgess doesn't even get to respond; she bursts into loud heaps of laughter, clenching her stomach and rocking forwards and backwards.

Adam can smell the alcohol on her breath, "You're tipsy."

"I'm fine."

Ruzek shakes his head, "That story wasn't that funny."

"It was to me," she retorted.

Erin stands in the living room, Haven lying against her mom's chest and both of her mother's arms are around her daughter's bottom. Her baby's head rests in the crook of her neck and she's obviously giving in to the unfair battle with sleep. Lindsay slowly rocks her body from side to side, only choosing to speak in order to interrupt Adam and Kim's spat, "Guys, fun fact: Annie got herself a date tonight."

Jay smirked, "Really?"

"Yeah," Annie walks over to take a seat on the couch, "He's cute. He's divorced and he has a daughter. She's fourteen. His name is Todd and he's a banker."

"Todd is really cute," Kim backed up Annie's earlier compliment, "He was out for his friend's bachelor party. You should have seen them dancing together. They were hot!" Burgess stumbles.

"Maybe we should get you home?" Adam stands up, "You're practically stumbling over and you're not even walking. And besides I think the parents want to settle down and put the baby to bed," he nods his head towards a sleeping Haven; her eyes closed and her breathing regular as her head is comfortably and securely resting in the crook of her mother's neck.

"Yeah, I'm tired," Erin nods, walking towards the staircase, "I know Jay is too from what we walked in on. Kim make sure you call me tomorrow and lock the door behind you guys. I'm heading up," her husband gets the hint and gets up to follow behind his wife. Annie is the first one out followed by Mouse. Kim and Ruzek are taking the leftover pizza and gathering the rest of their belongings; as he travels up the staircase, he hears them leave and the door locked.

By the time he drags himself into the master bedroom, Haven is sleeping in her bassinet and Erin is changing into her pajamas. Both are exhausted. Both are most likely going to try and sleep in the next day, at least until Haven decides to grace them with her blaring lungs. Jay crawls into bed first, and before Erin gets the chance, the baby frets and fusses. Halstead snuggles beneath the covers, "Just put her in the bed with us."

Dressed in only a long shirt that fell to the top of her thighs, she carefully balances the baby in her arms as she crawls onto the bed, "Make room for her."

"Mm," he groans, pulling his pillows to one side and pushing her pillows to the other, "I don't know how you do this all day. I had two people helping me and I'm so exhausted. I just want to sleep for a year right now. That was so hard."

"Well she's alive so I would call it a success," she chuckles, laying the baby down between them. Almost instantly Haven dozes back off, finding comfort in her parents' bed and laying between her two favorite people. Adjusting herself on her side of the bed, Erin's hand lay over her daughter, ensuring she fell asleep with some sort of contact made with her two month old just in case she rolled or Jay rolled over, she would feel it and wake up. This was the third night Haven slept in the bed with her parents and as she lay on her back between the two –arms sprawled wide open beside her head and legs bent and spread outwards- she's comfortable and content enough to sleep through the night and give her parents the much needed rest they deserve.


	3. Three Months

The early morning is eerie; it's a little after six in the morning when the team arrives to the crime scene. It's in the suburbs of Chicago, a neighborhood they've rarely ever visited while on the job. The chill in the early morning is misleading; the sun has hardly risen and the temperature is always colder before dawn. It's foggy outside, the grass is covered in the morning dew and the team waits on the porch of a suburban family home. CSIs are currently inside, taking photos and collecting evidence; they didn't enter to ensure the crime scene remained untainted. Under the artificial glow of the porch light, they wait for the thumbs up to enter the scene; this is a sensitive case, a hard one where time is of the essence. CSIs leave the house, nodding for the team to enter once they've collected the evidence and captured photos to take to the lab. They promise to send Voight the pictures and any leads they obtain in the lab; this is a case that calls for everyone's attention, this is an investigation that calls for every district in Chicago to work together.

The team enters the home, finding their immediate surroundings to be frenzied and cluttered by the crime that occurred in the house. Erin steps over a teddy bear as she continues following her team down the hallway. She spots the white sheet, covering a body, dead on the floor; it's the nanny. Olinsky pulls the sheet back, showing the team the body; her eyes are wide open, her blonde hair in a frenzy and there are clear signs of blunt force trauma. Olinsky lays the sheet back down and looks up at one of the first responders, "Where are the owners of the house?" The team gets an answer when he nods his head towards the dining room. One by one they enter, spotting Mr. and Mrs. Harper, holding hands and sitting in the window seat. The huge mahogany table took up most of the space in the large expanse of the dining room. The candelabras in the middle of the table have fallen over, resting messily upon the table cloth. Mr. and Mrs. Harper aren't interested in the mess that has become of their dining room; they're focused on the foggy view outside, trying to keep themselves together. Mrs. Harper –Leslie- is the first to notice them enter the room, she pulls her hand away from husband and runs it over her face, "My nanny is dead and my baby is missing."

"We'll need a recent photo," Dawson informs; Mr. Harper –Tom- stands up and waves for the detective to follow him into the room in order to give him a recent picture of little Abigail.

Jay stands there, presently in the same mindset as his wife, as they listen into what Mrs. Harper is able to inform them. Leslie and her husband Tom had woken up and came downstairs to find their nanny Carly dead and their baby Abigail gone. Jay listens in on Leslie's description of her daughter; she's eleven months old, brunette hair and has seven little teeth. Halstead's own baby is only three months old, with dark blonde hair and no teeth at all. He cannot imagine what these parents are going through. Jay looks over at his wife, studying her own facial expression after Dawson hands the photo Tom gave to him to her. This case is going to be hard; this is their first time investigating a child abduction case since Haven was born. These types of cases were already difficult before the baby was born and now that they have their own kid, it makes it all ten times harder. Putting themselves in the parents' shoes and imagining if it was their kid that was taken; they would go to the ends of the earth to get her back. Watching the parents struggle to keep themselves together, to remain standing and answering each question the detectives ask is admirable; Jay doesn't think he'll be able to do it if the situations were reversed.

The struggle to stay professional is immensely challenging; they're forced to try and remain disconnected from the family as they listen to the Harpers' answer the questions the team asks. Jay only picks up a few words the Harpers are saying; Leslie mentions that she and her husband had a late night filled with more glasses of scotch than they would like to admit, Tom backs her up with implying that they slept heavy through the night and heard nothing. They didn't hear a struggle; no screams, no objects falling over, no baby crying; they heard nothing. Jay looks over to see his wife walking out of the dining room; she's trying everything in her power to keep her head clear and stay focused. She wants to use her emotions to push her harder and motivate her to find little Abigail Harper. Halstead sticks around to listen to the remainder of questions being asked by the team; Ruzek looks between the two parents, his heart going out to both of them. He's no parent, but he can't even imagine having to go through something like this. He stoops low to be eye-leveled with the sitting woman, "I walked around the house and Atwater," he nods his head towards Kevin, "walked around upstairs. We didn't see any sign of forced entry; we saw no busted or opened windows and the door was not broken in either. Also, the alarm wasn't on. Do you know how someone could have gotten inside?"

Leslie wipes her nose with the back of her hand, "We keep a key under the doormat."

"Who knows about the key?" Ruzek asked, noticing Voight send Atwater out of the room to most likely check to see if the key was still under the mat.

"Um," Leslie runs her hands through her hair; her voice broken and wavering as her jumbled mind struggles to think, "besides me, my husband and Carly, um our gardener, housekeeper, basically everyone who works for us and anyone who has seen us get the key from under the mat. I always forget my keys inside so I regularly go under the mat to get the spare."

"Anyone could have seen," Dawson sighed, "Can we have a list of all your employees?"

Tom is quick to nod, "It's on my computer; I can email it to you all," Dawson nods for him to do so, "but I must say we recently let a few employees go. I no longer have their information."

"This could be the work of a disgruntled employee," Olinsky hypothesized, walking out of the dining room with Tom and Dawson to assist him in emailing the list of names to Mouse.

Jay rocks on his heels, his hands stuffed in his pockets as his mind flashes to the last time he saw his daughter. It was early this morning. Normally, he hugs and kisses her goodbye before he heads out to work, but since they were called in much earlier than normal, she was still asleep by the time Annie got to their house and it was time for them to leave. Halstead could tell this was hard on Dawson too, especially after Diego was taken, however Dawson is able to hide his emotions better than he and Erin; he's able to channel every feeling and use it to push him harder to investigate the case. Halstead isn't there yet. He needs a minute –maybe a little more- but as a parent and a cop cases like this will come around and since this is his first one since becoming a dad, he deserved to have a minute to process. Jay leaves the dining room, walks the halls and struggles to avoid looking at the photos of Abigail aligned on the wall. She's almost a whole year, she's eating table food, and she's standing, but not walking just yet –those are some of the little things he picked up from what Leslie said about her daughter.

Halstead continues to walk, eyes scanning the photos hung up and sitting above shelves and tables. Pictures of Abigail were everywhere just like pictures of Haven were everywhere in his own home. One could say they had absolutely too many pictures of Haven for her to be only three months old. Jay walks until he ends up in the kitchen, spotting his wife pacing around with her cell pressed against her ear, "I know she's asleep Annie, but can you just," she exasperatedly sighs, running her hand through her wavy hair, "can you just wake her up? Please. I know that's asking a lot because it's hard to put her back down afterwards and she gets grumpy, but I need this. I need you to send me a photo of her." Erin doesn't hear Jay come in; her back is to him as she continues pacing around the kitchen, "This case I'm working on is a hard one and I just want a picture of my baby, awake. A sleeping photo of her isn't enough right now," Lindsay breathes out a breath of relief, "Thank you, okay, bye." She hangs up.

Erin stops pacing and leans against the counter, her eyes glued to her phone as she patiently waits for the photo to come through. She hears Jay walk over, but she doesn't look up. Halstead leans against the counter as well, crossing his arms and looking at the photos she has saved into her phone as she swipes through each one, "Am I being ridiculous?" She continues swiping through pictures of her baby –from her first day to last night- Erin had lots of pictures, "Am I being too emotional? Was I asking too much of Annie to wake her up? I just needed to see her."

"I need to see her too," Jay agrees, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulders, "If we're going to be able to work this case, we need to see her."

Erin smiles, "Look at this photo," she chuckles a little, "that's when you did the airplane with her? Ha," she laughs again, "she absolutely loves that."

"I can't imagine what they're going through," Jay whispers, eyes glossed over as he continues looking at the photos on Erin's phone –she continues swiping through the endless pictures of her daughter, "I can't imagine not knowing where she is and who she's with; I can't even think about it. I can't look Mr. and Mrs. Harper in the eye without picturing Abigail."

"That's why I had to leave the room," Erin agrees.

His arm drops from around her shoulders, "This is your third week back at work."

"Yeah," Erin whispers; her eyes staring down at the phone, waiting for whatever picture Annie sends her to come through, "It was an easier adjustment than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be hard for me to go back to work and get in the groove of things again, but it was pretty easy; I missed it. I didn't miss this," she says, referring to the cases, "I missed the adult conversation, arresting the bad guys, and being around all of you guys. It's only so much entertainment a baby can give you."

After a few more minutes, the picture finally comes through. It brings an instant smile on Erin and Jay's faces; Haven is smiling, lying on her stomach and doing tummy time. Her arms are bent beneath her and her head is lifted off the ground. Annie sends a caption with the photo, _Hi mommy and daddy_ with an emoji heart attached and Erin internally crumbles. Her three month old was dressed in a purple and white striped long-sleeved onesie, the same onesie Erin dressed her in last night after her nighttime bath. Lindsay saves the photo to her, "You know," she looks up at her husband, "I never knew how much a toothless smile could warm my heart until my baby smiles at me," she pockets her cell phone and wipes her eyes with the back of her hands, "Being a mom has made me such a sap. What happened to me?" She chuckles.

"Your heart just grew ten times bigger after having her."

Voight calls the team together in the living room; it's just as chaotic and untidy as the rest of the downstairs. It was a complete mess; there was no way they were going to be able to piece together what happened inside the house. Their best method was to just focus on and figure out what happened right after Abigail was taken. Finding out who took Abigail will most likely tell them who killed Carly. The team regroups in the living room, away from the distraught parents. The mood is intense; it's unnerving and dark; Hank stands in front of his team, "The list of employees had been sent to Mouse. He's going to weed through them, run a background check on all of them. He'll call us if he finds anything questioning. Now, Abigail was taken from an upper-middle class family somewhere between three and five in the morning; the parents went to bed a little before three and woke up a little after five. They have money so maybe they'll get a call. Hopefully, these people just want money. Another unit is setting up base here in the living room just in case they call, we're going to be useful and work outside of the home. Ruzek, Atwater, Dawson and Olinsky, I need you all to walk the area, question neighbors and see if they saw anything strange or worth mentioning. The rest of us are going back to the precinct, we're going to be setting up the white board, listing out possible suspects, assisting Mouse in the background checks and putting our heads together to theorize why someone would kill a nanny and take an eleven month old baby while her parents slept upstairs."

Burgess and Halstead disappear to speak with Tom and Leslie once more, leaving Erin and Hank in the living room. He's eyeing her, waiting for her to ask him what's currently been on her mind, waiting for her to tell him what's obviously bothering her. He needs for her to get it all out so she can be completely focused on the case; he needs everyone focused and the only way for her to be able to is if she tells him what's been on her mind. He continues to watch, she's taking in deep breaths as she stares at the family portrait above the fire place, "Kid-"

"How do you do it?" She turns around to face him, "How do you separate your personal life and focus on what needs to be done? As a parent, how do you handle victims that remind you of Justin, or of Danny? Or even of me? How do you do it?"

His arms wrap around her, pulling her into a hug, "You remind yourself of what needs to be done," his chin rests atop of her head as he responds, "You remind yourself that this is bigger than our personal feelings; you tell yourself that your child, your loved one is safe. And you put the energy you would put into finding your loved one into finding someone else's," he pulls back, his hands wrap around her upper arm, "Do you think you can work this case? I can give you and Jay the day off; let you both go home to see that little monster."

She smirks and nods, "I need to be here. The more people working this case, the better the chances we'll find her."

"Her face should be all over the news right now," Voight informs, releasing Erin's arms, "Someone is bound to recognize her. We put out an Amber Alert, the neighborhood is rallying together to put up flyers and we have airports and train stations on high alert, looking out for all people traveling with a baby."

She rubs her hands together and backs away from Voight, "We should get back to the station so we can start putting the pieces together and brainstorming. The longer it takes us to find her, the higher the chances the person or people who took her will get away and I can't let that happen."

Erin walks out of the living room, strolling through the house and stepping over every fallen piece of furniture. She walks into the dining room, spotting Leslie crying alone –Jay, Kim and Tom no longer in the room with her. Lindsay sees she's alone and turns to leave, "Wait." The detective stops walking and turns back to face the inconsolable mother who had called out to her, "Do you think you'll find my baby? Do you think I'll get to see her again?"

Lindsay approaches her, "Of course," she stoops down onto her knee in front of the sitting woman, "and my team and I are going to do everything in our power to bring Abigail home."

"At what point does the investigation stop or turn cold?" Leslie looks up, eyes focused on Erin's and she feels the detective pat her back as she answers, "We're not going to think about that."

"That's hard to do," Leslie breaks down, shoulders trembling and tears running down her face; she covers her face with her hands as her loud sobs cry into them, "You have to find her. You have to find Abigail," she feels the detective's arms circle her into a hug, holding her tight.

"We have officers from different precincts all looking for her."

"But do they have to be in my house?" Leslie questioned, wiping her tears with the side of her hands, "I just want to be alone with my husband. I just want to hold my daughter's teddy bear and be alone. I don't want the constant reminder here. And when will the coroner get here to pick up Carly's body? I don't want to keep seeing that!"

"The coroner will be here at any moment," Erin says, struggling to remain calm for the mother's sake. She draws back, staring at Leslie's red, puffy eyes, "Do you need anything? Something to drink? A tissue? Maybe some food?"

"I'm okay," Leslie nods, running her hands through her hair, "I'll be okay. I just want these people to leave my house, but I know that's out of your control."

Erin sets her hand against Leslie's shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze, "We're about to leave so that's a few less people in your house."

"Am I allowed to straighten up the house? I need to keep busy."

"Yeah, the CSIs got everything they needed, including photos. You can clean."

Erin's arms are wrapped around her own waist, reminding herself to keep it together, at least for Leslie's sake. Watching this woman remain strong when having absolutely no idea where her daughter currently was at was inspiring; it motivated Erin alone to know that if Leslie could get herself together and do something productive, such as clean, then she should be able to do the same and solve this case. As Lindsay backs away from Leslie, preparing to leave out of the woman's dining room, she hears her speak up once again, "Are you a mother?"

Lindsay came to another stop; she hesitated before turning around, "Yeah, I am."

"…then you understand." Leslie whispers, rising from her seat, "Please find my baby."

"I will."

Leslie approaches her, "Promise me."

"Ma'am-"

"Promise me."

Erin nods, suddenly giving in, "I promise."

The team all came straight from home, each driving their own vehicle or rode over with their significant other. Since Kim hitched a ride with Ruzek and Ruzek was currently interviewing the neighbors, she rode back with Voight, wanting to give Halstead and Lindsay some time to get themselves together. The new parents sit silently in their car, relaxing and allowing every suppressed thought to come to their mind; it all needs to be let out by the time they get to the precinct because once they walk through those doors, they're in detective mode. They had a moment of weakness at the crime scene where their emotions were clearly plastered on their faces, but they're human, they had a slip-up and they'll get themselves together. Voight's truck pulls out of the driveway first, followed by Lindsay –she's driving, it helps to keep her distracted. Every once in a while she'll avert her eyes from the road to her husband to see him looking at pictures on his cell phone, family photos of Haven with a varying amount of people; one of Haven and Will, her and Natalie, her and little Owen and her with every other person they consider family and friends. His fingers slide on the screen to zoom in on her face, "I miss her and I just keep thinking about if it was Haven that was missing, or if it was her that was hurt, I wouldn't know what to do. I couldn't just sit in the house and do nothing. It would drive me crazy not knowing where she is. That's one of the many reasons I became a cop," he says, pocketing his cell phone, "not directly because of Haven because she wasn't even thought of when I applied to the academy, but among other reasons, I became a cop to protect those I love and care about; I became a cop to take the bad people off the street, to make the world a bit more safer every day for you, Will, my daughter, all my friends and even the strangers on the street."

Erin nods, fully agreeing with everything he has said, and she clears her throat to add one last thing, "Everything I do, every decision I make is because of a little girl who deserves the best," she sniffs, "I always connect with victims. I'm always the one to talk to them, to calm them down and ensure them that we're doing everything in our power to get them justice and that has been my drive, my motivation, but ever since Haven got here and I came back to work, she became my incentive, my reason, my motivation to do this."

"Lucky little girl," Jay adds, "Her mom is a badass fighting crime all for her."

"And for the victims too," she chimes in, but agreeing nonetheless.

"That's what's going to help us solve this case, knowing what's at stake and what it reminds us of," Erin comments, briefly pulling the car to a stop at a red light; she turns to face her husband after a long silent pause, "I spoke with Leslie –mother to mother- I promised her Jay…so I have to find Abigail. I gave her my word. I told her we'll find her daughter."

"And we will," he nods in agreement as the light turns green.

In their quest to get to the precinct, Erin travels through downtown Chicago knowing that the expressway would be filled with traffic. She notices Jay on her cell phone, scanning through her pictures of Haven –he's smiling. His grin tugs a smile onto her face; she doesn't want to talk about the case anymore, not until they get to the station, so she decides to bring up a new topic of conversation, "What should we do for dinner tonight?"

"We should order," he answers quickly without a second thought, "After today, neither one of us is going to feel like cooking."

"Yeah you're right about that, but I'm tired of pizza. Let's do burgers."

"And fries," He adds.

She licks her lips, "Yum," since they had to skip breakfast, she's hungry and easily daydreams of dinner, "we'll be eating burgers and fries while the baby is stuck drinking milk," she chuckles.

"She doesn't know what she's missing."

They pull in front of the precinct after the remainder of their ride consisted of talking about dinner. And once the car is placed in park and the ignition is cut off, Erin's text tone rings through. Checking her cell phone, she spots a text from Annie and she excitedly slides her finger across the screen, "Jay, look," she turns the screen of her phone around to face him; it's a selfie of Annie and Haven, their heads are pressed together and the baby's mouth is open in a wide, toothless grin, "I didn't realize I needed this picture until it came. I never imagined this much love until she was born."

"Let's go find that baby."

Time seems to be a fleeting thought; time is passing by but no one wants to be the one paying attention to it, watching as the minutes tick by when there's still no word or evidence that will push them closer to finding Abigail Harper. The white board has been put together, an enlarged photo of Abigail taped to the top center of the board, reminding them of the reason why they have been up since five in the morning and haven't eaten anything yet. No photos of possible suspects have been taped to the board due to a lack of suspects, due to a lack of evidence and due to a lack of an obvious motive. Mouse had been running the background check for hours and so far there has been no luck. Each employee, both past and present, that Mouse had run so far through the district's database had passed the criminal background check, the credit check and there was no suspicious activity or cause for questioning in their personal bank accounts.

Erin is frustrated. As each hour passes, she finds herself losing hope. They had gotten to the Harpers' house around six in the morning, but they weren't officially allowed inside until around six thirty a.m. The team hadn't left Tom and Leslie's home until around eight and now as the hour hand hit the nine, signaling the next hour, the team grows even more frustrated. It's nine in the morning and Abigail had been missing for at least six hours. By three a.m. it would officially be a whole 24 hours that had gone by and the more time that passes, the higher the chance whoever had taken Abigail gets away with it. Voight checks in regularly with the unit currently stationed at the home of the Harpers and so far no one has called; no one has taken responsibility for the kidnapping and no one has come out requesting a ransom from the Harpers.

Hotlines have been set up downstairs of the precinct, and Platt regularly comes upstairs to check in on the Intelligence unit and fill them in; there are no solid leads. The hotlines have been ringing off the charts, but each lead or tip led nowhere. It was just paranoid and alert civilians calling in every time they saw someone with a baby. In the next hour, Ruzek, Atwater, Olinsky and Dawson return; they had no such luck interviewing the neighbors because none of them had seen or heard anything –they were all asleep. Halstead and Burgess assist Mouse in the background checks, crossing off names once they're completely cleared –it's the only lead they had to keep busy. Atwater has the news loaded on his computer, watching it live as Ruzek searches the social media accounts of the parents, reading every comment posted on their pages or beneath photos of little Abigail.

Platt returns an hour later, with no updates, but sporting a tired expression on her face as she climbs the stairs leading to Intelligence. She scans the room in search of Erin, and when she spots her, she approaches, "You have a visitor," looking over Platt's shoulder, Erin spots her mother, she sees Bunny and it's clear by her facial expression that Erin wasn't expecting the visit at all, "Mom, what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk."

Lindsay crosses another name off the suspect list when Jay gives her a thumbs up, signaling the next employee passed the check, "We're busy today." She pops the cap back onto the marker.

"When are you not busy?" Her mother asks, drawing in the attention of the team, "You don't answer my calls or my texts. You won't even answer the door when I come over."

"Can we not do this here?"

"If not here, then where Erin?"

Voight gives Lindsay a nod, requesting for her to take her mother into a separate room, far away from their case and the bullpen they're working in. She's a distraction right now, so Erin grabs her mother's wrist and pulls her all the way towards the interrogation room, pushing her inside and closing the door after they both enter, "Mom, there is a baby missing so I can't argue with you about this right now."

"Speaking of baby," Bunny steps back, eyeing Erin up and down, "you never told me you had yours."

"I was busy."

"You never told me the gender, the birthday or even the name."

"I was busy."

"You're always busy!"

Erin runs her hands down her face, obviously stressed from wasting time arguing about this with her mother, "I'm sorry if you don't realize that being a mother and working full-time is time consuming and leaves you with no free time to make social calls because you never had a full-time job and you never put anyone before yourself, especially not your own children, so you obviously had all the time in the world to do as you please. Forget responsibilities and forget priorities because you've never had any."

"Ouch."

Lindsay calms herself by inhaling and exhaling a deep breath, "Look, I don't want to argue about this right now. There is an eleven month old baby out there who was snatched from her home. There is a nanny who was killed in an effort to save that baby. There are parents crying at their home right now, slowly losing hope with every hour that passes. There is a family out there who most likely just learned that their daughter was killed at work. I'm busy."

"Fine," Bunny throws her hands in the air and gives in, "just tell me when I can see my grandbaby."

"I don't know."

"Erin-"

"I don't know!"

"Please I just want to see the baby. Where's the daycare? I can just stop by."

"You can see her when I get off of work only if you stop wasting my time right now," Erin asserts, crossing her arms and pacing around the small interrogation room, "I'm not telling you who's watching her. Any time you see her it is under supervised visits only, oversaw by either me or Jay. I'm not telling you where she's being watched or who is watching her. I'm not telling you any of that."

"It's a her?" It's all Bunny picks up in Erin's words, "You had a girl."

Lindsay rolls her eyes, "Yeah mom, I had a girl."

"When is her birthday? What's her name? What does she look like? What is she like?" Bunny is enthused, completely excited, leaning against the edge of the steel table with a grin stretched out from one side of her face to the other. With the clear look of irritation implanted on Erin's face, Bunny stands up straight and promises, "I'll be out of here soon."

"December 2nd," Erin begins listing the details on her daughter, "Haven," she reaches into her pocket, pulls out her cell, presses a button to light up the screen and holds it out to her mother, "She looks like this," Erin watches Bunny smile down at the photo of Haven, "And she's three months old mom, she's like every other three month old baby."

Bunny bites down onto her bottom lip, suppressing a smile and nods her head, "I'll be over your house tonight around six."

"Fine," Erin opens the door to the interrogation room, "but you're paying for dinner, bring burgers and fries." She storms out, Bunny following behind and waving to the team as she departs the precinct. Lindsay flops down into her desk chair, arms crossed over her chest; she leans back, "What I miss?"

"None of the names of their employees both past and present checked out; they all passed." Ruzek fills in.

Burgess adds, "All of their employees have clean criminal background checks, good credit scores and no suspicious activity in their back account. It can't be any of them."

Voight departs from his office when the clock strikes eleven in the morning. It has officially been eight hours since the baby was taken from her home. He shuts his office door and walks over to the white board, "I had just gotten off the phone with the unit that set up base at the Harpers' house," each detective turns to give him their undivided attention, "No one has called in for a ransom. There have been no reports or sightings at any bordering lines of Illinois or at the airport." His fist slams against the nearest wall, obvious agitation and anger seething through his being, "Dawson, I need you to contact the CSIs to see if they found anything in the lab," the sergeant looks over to Mouse, "I want you to look into the nanny's background. It's a possibility that this could have been about Carly and not Abigail."

"…then why take Abigail?" Erin asks.

"I don't know," Voight stressfully pulls at his hair, "I have the higher ups hounding me. I'm trying to think of every possible scenario. We need to divide and conquer. Lindsay, I need you to look into Tom's coworkers; Leslie doesn't work, so we don't need to worry about any coworkers on her end," he watches her nod before going to carry out her task, "Halstead look into their neighbors, it's a small neighborhood with about four different families on the block; that task shouldn't be difficult," Jay goes to his computer and starts working on his assignment, "Burgess look into relatives, both immediate, close and distant. Olinsky, I need you to look into Tom's friends and Atwater look into Leslie's friends. Ruzek look into everyone else who has come into contact with the Harpers, including baby Abigail. I want no stone left unturned. I don't want us feeling as if we didn't do everything we could have done to find her."

The team splits, silently going to their seats to research and investigate those in the inner circle of the Harpers. It's tedious work, but it needs to be done. It takes over an hour, two to be precise, for them to get a list of names and run a background check on each of them. It's one o'clock when the lack of sleep starts to catch up to Erin; she's yawning, shaking her head occasionally to keep herself awake. Erin is the only one behind on the background checks, she located the pharmaceutical company Tom Harper works at, but she's having trouble locating his shift. It could be due to the exhaustion that's plaguing her, but she needs to focus, she needs to pay attention and find his shift so she is able to locate those who work his hours. Erin rises from her seat, earning the attention of everyone in the room, "If I sit there any longer, I'm going to fall asleep. I'm going to fix me a strong cup of coffee."

Erin missed a warm cup of coffee; she hadn't had a mug since before she was pregnant. Even after having the baby, she tried to steer clear and reduce her coffee intake, but today was a day where it called for a mug. Everyone has been drinking cups of coffee all day today; this mug would be her first. As Erin brings the cup towards her lips, smiling as she takes a sip –it's filled with cream and sugar just as she likes it. The caffeinated beverage sent a warm rush throughout her body. It was one that she desperately needed since waking up at such an ungodly hour. Standing in the breakroom, taking sip after sip of her coffee, she contemplates refilling her cup. She doesn't need it at all, but it wouldn't hurt. It'll help to keep her focused on finding the hours a man works just to see who at his place of employment works the exact same ones. Erin decides against refilling her coffee mug; if she needs more, she can just get back up to get some, but for right now, she'll enjoy her current cup. Lindsay takes another small sip, shaking her shoulders in excitement as she missed the pleasure in enjoying her acquired taste for coffee.

Lindsay pulls her cup away from her lips, stops her body from moving around in excitement and focuses her ears to pick up the joy she hears from the bullpen. Recognizing the voice almost immediately, Erin skeptically walks out of the breakroom to see Annie standing in the center of the bullpen, hands stuffed in her pockets as she talks with Atwater and Burgess. Haven is currently in her dad's arms, being cuddled and bounced around. The image was a sight for sore eyes; it was a welcomed surprise. Lindsay sets her mug down on the nearest desk –Jay's- and rushes over to see her baby, "Hi Havie," she scoops the three month old into her arms; Haven is in a really good mood, as she holds the plastic, colorful toy keys up to her mouth, "What brings you here?"

"I brought her to surprise you guys," Annie informs, watching as Voight joked and made silly faces at the baby in Erin's arms, "I watched the news and I figured you all deserved a little pick me up."

Erin kisses the side of her daughter's head, "Well thank you for bringing her. I definitely needed this."

Voight continues making faces, earning genuine smiles from Haven as she played with the toy plastic keys, slobbering all over the colorful toy. The baby's grasp around the keys is tight as she shakes her hand up and down, smiling harder as she watches her grandfather make the silliest faces; she watches a side of him that isn't afforded to everyone. It's rare for others to see, and when she brings the keys to her mouth, slobbering over them again, it's Voight who finds himself smiling this time, "I missed you," he leans forward and presses a kiss to her forehead.

Annie glances at the white board, walking over to it to take a closer look at the photo taped to the center of the board. Her own heart went out to the family; she hoped they found the little girl in time to return her. As Annie reads each line of evidence on the board, she sighs, thinking back to when she watched the news, "I feel so bad for those parents. I can't imagine what they're going through. I think about Travis when stuff like this happens," she turns around to face the team, "The news said she was kidnapped while her parents slept. I bet they're blaming themselves. I bet they keep saying all of these what ifs as if it could change the outcome of what happened."

Erin is gently rocking the baby in her arms, "Actually, they're not blaming themselves and none of them ever mentioned any what if scenarios while I was there."

"That's good because they shouldn't blame themselves for something they had no control over," Annie responds, walking back over to the team, hands still remaining in her pockets, "The news just kept talking about how the parents were sleeping upstairs, down the hallway from their daughter's nursery. Someone would have to be bold to come in while the parents were upstairs sleeping, to know that they could wake up at any second and catch them, you got to be brave, stupid or extremely lucky," Annie leans over to pick up the toy keys after Haven dropped them, "Where's the bathroom?"

"That way," Kim answers, pointing towards the hallway; she turns to face Erin afterwards, watching a thought-filled expression cross her face. The baby is lying in her arms, and she's present physically, but mentally she is somewhere else…thinking. Burgess approaches, "Erin-"

"They did get lucky," Erin whispers, mindlessly passing the baby to Voight. She looks up at her team and begins pacing in front of them, "What are the chances of sneaking in the night that both Tom and Leslie were completely wasted upstairs? Of all the nights to break in and steal a baby, it was the night the parents got drunk and passed out? Why risk it?" She stops pacing, "That's a big risk to take unless you knew the job would be pulled off. Why risk getting caught unless you knew?"

Kim speaks up, "The only way they could know was if someone watched them."

"Or if they were involved…" Erin's thought trails off.

Annie reappears and extends the washed toy keys back to the baby. She places them in Haven's grip as she remains in Voight's arms; he's distracted, thinking about the insinuation Erin was making. She truly didn't seem to believe it. She looked as if she didn't think much of her theory until the entire team turns to face her. Erin turns to Mouse in a quick rush, "Run the parents' names and check their bank accounts. Leslie doesn't work and when I tried to figure out what shift Tom worked, I couldn't find anything." She rushes over to his side, and watches the screen from over his shoulder. With one arm leaning against the back of Mouse's chair and the other leaning against the edge of his desk, she reads the computer screen, "Tom Harper filed for bankruptcy and their house is about to be foreclosed on. He lost his job," she scans the screen in search of his last pay stub, "around five months ago," Lindsay follows Mouse's finger when he points at the screen, "And it seems they recently received a deposit of over $500,000 from an international bank"

"Find me who that money came from," Voight ordered, passing the infant to Annie.

Mouse's fingers fly across the keyboard, each detective comes around to watch as they see his computer skills in live action. No one understands what's happening, but as long as Mouse knows what he's doing it's all good. Mouse eventually draws his hands away from the keyboard and turns to look at the team, "The money had been rerouted a couple of times to destroy the trace, but it was amateur work. It only bounced around through three different networks and four different banks in two different countries."

"Who did the money come from Mouse?" Voight argued, wanting him to cut straight to the chase.

"The money came from the account of Heather and Isaiah Miller," he informed, loading up a second window to load up their bank transactions.

Ruzek skims the transactions from over Mouse's shoulders until one catches his eye, "They tried in-vitro four times in the past two years."

"She was unable to get pregnant," Atwater whispered, looking over at his boss.

"The Harpers sold their baby," Voight shouted, running off to his office to grab his coat.

Mouse's fingers fly across the screen, "I sent the address to your phones."

"I'll go to the Millers residence with Olinsky, Dawson and Atwater. The rest of you go to the Harpers home," he ordered, suiting up with the rest of the team, "We won't drive with the sirens on. We don't want to alert the Millers, just in case they get desperate and decide to hold the baby hostage."

The team runs down the stairs, going out to hop into their vehicles. Voight slams his truck door and roll his window down, "Make sure Erin doesn't shoot anyone!" He shouts outside of the window before pulling off. Voight quickly drives pass the other half of the team as they race to Ruzek's car.

Since the Millers' house is closer, Voight and the detectives who rode with him arrived first. The Millers are inside; both of their cars are parked in their driveway. They had been planning to leave but were waiting for the heat of the police to die down before they attempted to make their escape. Voight's team surrounds the outside of the house, blocking each door and preparing for Voight's orders to come through their earpiece. By the time they kick down the door to raid in, Halstead and the other team finally pull up at the Harpers' house. They're parked out front, watching the house from the inside of the truck, waiting on word from Voight for them to enter.

It seems to take forever. The minutes are ticking by and Erin is growing restless and angry the more she thinks about it, the more she pictures or tries to wrap her mind around how two people, two parents could sell their own baby. How can someone buy a baby? How can you put a price tag on a human? Erin's leg shakes and trembles until she feels Jay's hand set upon it, calming it and her down. Her anxiety and her anger seem to increase the more she sits in the car waiting for orders to be given. She's tempted to call Voight herself. Hank had called thirty minutes ago to inform them that they're outside of the Millers home, ten minutes after that, they got the call that they're raiding in. She's so close to calling him herself, when Ruzek's phone finally dings. He answers, and she can barely hear what Voight has to say as Adam speaks with him, but once he hangs up, they're all ears, "What did he say?" Burgess is the first to ask.

"Voight said we can go in," Ruzek informs, pocketing his cell phone, "Abigail is in our custody; they're going to take her back to the district and contact CPS. Hopefully they'll find a relative so she doesn't go into foster care. Isaiah and Heather Miller have been placed under arrest and when their rights were read Heather Miller started singing like a canary. She cried and confessed to everything. She basically said everything we suspected. Abigail was sold to them."

It was all Erin needed to hear. She throws open the car door and steps out; her vest already strapped on and her weapon holstered –she won't need it. Halstead, Burgess and Ruzek run to catch up to her; her obvious maternal emotions kicking in and leading her through the perfect cut lawn and into the foyer of the house. Officers and detectives remain sitting in the living room, by the phones, waiting for a call that will never come. Lindsay steps into the room, "Where are Tom and Leslie?" And when they point in the direction of the kitchen, she's storming towards it. Ruzek hangs back in the living room to quickly fill the officers in on where their investigation led. He summarizes it in three sentences so he can catch up with a red faced, pissed off Erin, who is stomping down the hallway. She steps over a fallen picture frame of the Harpers –including Abigail- in her quest towards the kitchen, and when she walks inside the room, seeing Leslie washing dishes as Tom dries and puts them up, looking domestic while the pitiful frowns on their faces mock her and what she knows to be true. Halstead is absolutely scared for them, especially when Erin walks over and snatches the plate from Leslie's hands, "I comforted you!"

"Pardon me?" Leslie looks up at her, frown lines appearing in the center of her forehead; she's confused.

"You cried in my arms!" Erin shouted from over her husband's shoulder; he stepped in front of her to ensure she didn't lay hands on Mrs. Harper, "I felt sorry for you! I cried for you!" She glares at the woman as Leslie keeps up her innocent persona, "I felt sympathy for you! And you used it against me!"

"What is going on?"

Erin ignores Tom's question, her eyes remain focused on Leslie as she continues to seethe, "I made you a promise. I promised you we would find your daughter."

Tom grins, sighing in mock relief, "You found her?"

"Cut the bullshit," she quickly turns her head in his direction, "we know!"

Ruzek taps Kim's shoulder and points his head towards Leslie. The two detectives approach the parents, and aggressively pull their arms behind their back as they are read their rights. Leslie is shaking her head in disbelief, "I can explain!" She's pleading with the officers to hear her out.

"You sold your own baby, a BABY to the highest fucking bidder!"

"Just hear me out," she attempts to respond until her husband cuts her off.

Tom warns, "Don't say anything until our lawyer is present,"

"You don't have to say anything because the Millers told us everything we need to know." Halstead speaks up much more calmly than his wife did previously, "They told us how you two were going bankrupt, your house was being foreclosed on and since you lost your job," he points at Tom, "and you don't work," he points towards Leslie, "you all were completely broke. They told us that Carly found out what you were doing when she saw the transaction occur and when she ran to call the police, you hit her over the head enough times to kill her!" His voice increases and this time Erin is holding him back, "They even told us how Leslie knocked things over to make it look like a struggle, threw your own clothes out, went back upstairs and laid down until it was an appropriate time to call the police. All the Millers were supposed to do was lay low until the heat died down."

It pains Leslie to not say anything. She struggles, biting against her tongue and when she comes close to speaking, Tom looks at her and shouts, "Do not say anything. Wait until our lawyer is present." Their rights have already been read, so if they were to say anything, it would be under their own volition. Whatever said after that point would be on them, it would be nothing their lawyer could do if they were to say something to incriminate themselves further. As Erin watches Leslie struggle to remain quiet, she speaks up in disappointment, "Your own baby… What kind of mother are you?"

"I am a great mother! My baby was NEVER in any danger!"

"Leslie!" Tom reprimanded.

Erin shook her head, "What kind of mother could just sell her own child? What kind of father can just accept a price for their own kid? What kind of mother can just lie and cry into a woman's arms and accept sympathy she didn't deserve?" Leslie becomes face-to-face with Erin as the detective continues, "Speaking as a mother who loves her child unconditionally, Leslie, you do not deserve the honor in having such a title." Erin had absolutely no intention of hitting her, of clenching her fist and punching Leslie right across the jaw…until she hawked and then spit into Lindsay's face. Leslie hit the floor as her saliva ran down the side of Erin's cheek; Burgess rushes to grab a paper towel and she wets it as officers pull Leslie off the ground. Erin stretches her hands; the knuckles on her right hand beginning to bruise, "You're going to regret doing that," and before she's able to swing her fist again, Jay catches it.

Leslie flinches, expecting the impact, but when it doesn't come, she peels her eyes open. She sees Detective Halstead holding Lindsay's wrist, whispering something in her ear that no one is able to hear. Erin nods and snatches her wrist from his grip, "I'm fine."

"Walk it off," he urges, pointing over his shoulder in the direction of the hallway.

Lindsay takes the paper towel from Burgess and wipes it across the side of her face; she releases a frustrated sigh and backs away from the team, "I'll be in the car." She leaves the kitchen, scrubbing the wet paper towel against the side of her face, trying to scrub away the disgust, the memory and hopefully the reminder of the events that occurred today. Erin walks outside; neighbors are standing in the street, watching and waiting. She walks to the passenger side and opens the door, "Erin." She turns to see Burgess jogging to catch up to her, "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Erin reiterates her friend's question; she closes the car door and turns to lean against it, facing Burgess, "No, I'm not okay. I hate when people act like they're the victim when in reality they are the problem! I keep falling for it Kim! I keep falling for victims who aren't actually victims!" She crosses her arms and begins pacing on the outside street, "You don't know how bad I wanted to hit her and then she gave me a reason and I just went with it. Becoming a mother is a job that I don't take for granted; it's a job I hold dear to my heart. No, I didn't plan to get pregnant, at least no time soon, but I ended up pregnant and I don't regret it," she's growing emotional, "When I think of their baby, of Abigail, I suddenly think of Haven. I see my baby. I see someone putting a price on her head. I see someone seeing her as a method of getting a quick buck," Erin leans her head back and wipes her thumbs across her eyes, "I've become such an overprotective idiot since my baby was born. And I don't know if I'm more pissed off at them selling their baby or lying about it and pretending to be a victim."

"Yeah," Burgess nods, completely agreeing with Erin's rationale, "I just think about how I would love to have a baby, but there are people like them out there who don't even appreciate the fact that they can have children. They take it all for granted."

"Have children? You can have-" Erin notices Kim shaking her head, shutting down the statement Erin was about to make, "You can't."

"I had a doctor's appointment last week to make sure everything was working properly just in case Adam changed his mind, and remember when I got shot?" Lindsay nods, pushing Burgess to continue, "Well, it kind of messed some stuff up in there," her hand rests upon her stomach, "and I can't have babies."

Erin immediately wraps her arms around her friend, "Oh Kim, I am so sorry! Here I am, bitching and complaining about stuff and you're going through this! I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Burgess pats her back before stepping out of the hug, "I've come to terms with it. And there's always adoption and if I don't want that, I'll always have Haven to fill that whole in my heart."

"Of course, you'll always have Haven."

Lindsay wants to hug her best friend again, but she spots Tom and Leslie from over Kim's shoulder; they're being escorted out of the house by officers, parted and placed into two separate squad cars. Jay and Adam are walking towards them, taking their vests off and pushing their way through the crowd of neighbors nosily watching Tom and Leslie be detained. Halstead gets to the car and grabs a hold of his wife's hand, tugging her towards the other side of the truck, "Are you okay?"

"I wish people would stop asking me that, I'm fine."

He's looking over her bruised knuckles, "…your hand says otherwise."

"I let her get under my skin," she sighs, pulling her hand away, "I fell for it…again. I'm an idiot."

"No you're not," he reprimands; "Don't say that."

"It's the truth. I'm an idiot and I took this case personal and I allowed my emotions to get involved."

"We all did."

"I let them show," Erin argued, rubbing her reddened knuckles, "They came out and that was so unprofessional of me, but I couldn't help it. And it felt so good."

"I'm sure it did," he grinned.

"You should have let me punch her again."

"I would've, but I couldn't."

She nods, "I understand. Today has absolutely sucked."

"No arguments coming from me," he swings his arm around her shoulders, and leans in to kiss the side of her head, "The only thing that can brighten this day up is going home, eating and seeing my baby."

"You can say that again!"

"Hey love birds," Ruzek shouted out of the truck's window, "I hate to interrupt, but Voight wants all of us back at the district. Olinsky got into contact with CPS and Abigail's maternal grandparents," Jay and Erin are hopping inside the truck and as Ruzek drives, he continues to fill them in, "They're driving up from Peoria, IL; it's a two hour drive. Apparently, Leslie had been distant from her parents since she married Tom; they didn't approve of the relationship. They didn't even know she had a baby."

This is the first time today they actually felt calm. Abigail was safe. The Harpers and the Millers have been arrested. Erin was able to let out some of her anger on the lying woman. And her baby was safe at home, away from the crazies and the evil people in the world. Annie had left the precinct a few minutes before they all rode out to the Harpers' house. When they arrive to the precinct, the atmosphere is much different; it's slower-paced, there's no longer a rush or a time is of the essence type of feeling. The detectives climb the stairs in ease; they're calm and collected as they take their time walking up each step. It had been a depressingly long day, but it ended on a good note; Abigail is safe. And when Erin spots the baby in person, sitting on Dawson's lap as he plays with her, her own heart grows a size larger. Lindsay walks over, and sits on her knees to be eye-leveled with the baby sitting upon Antonio's lap, "Hi Abigail," she waves at the eleven month old; she imitates Erin's action and waves back, "She's so alert and focused. I'm excited for Haven to reach this age."

Dawson sets the eleven month old onto her feet; her stance is wobbly and she's holding onto the leg of the desk, but once she's settled, she stoops low to pick up the toy she dropped. She extends the toy towards Erin, "Thank you sweetheart," Lindsay takes a hold of the toy before handing it back. Abigail holds the small toy up to her chest, and then takes two steps towards Burgess and then wobbles, standing in one spot until she gathers her balance and takes another step towards her. She's walking. Detective Burgess scoops her up and carries her over towards her seat, ready to play with her, at least until her grandparents come. Voight exits his office, smiling at his detectives, finding peace and happiness in how the day has played out; he walks over to the white board and begins erasing it, "I know it's early," he sets the eraser down and turns to face his team, "but I think you all deserve the rest of the day off," he looks from Dawson to Olinsky to Halstead before settling his eyes on Lindsay, "I know this case hit a lot of us hard and we all deserve to rest up. Good job everyone. Enjoy the rest of your day and hug your loved ones."

Burgess adjusts the baby sitting on her lap, "I think I'm going to hang around until her grandparents show up," Abigail chuckling at Kim playing peek-a-boo with her warms their heart, "Do you like this game?" She continues, earning harder and louder chuckles, "Yeah, I think I'll stick around a little longer."

Voight nods, before disappearing back into his office. It didn't take much for Lindsay and Halstead to accept the early dismissal, grab their jackets and then head out the door. They're pretty sure Annie would love to be let off early today, but for them, they're trading in one job to continue another…and they didn't mind one bit. As they finally settle in their car, and relax, the exhaustion from today's events finally took over and settled in; it wasn't even five o'clock yet and they're already tired. Jay is driving, and Erin fills the silence in the car when she remembers something, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!"

"What?"

"Bunny is going to stop by around six."

He quickly looks at her before looking back at the road, "How did that end up happening?"

"I agreed for her to visit only so I could get rid of her," Erin informs, filling him in on her conversation with her mother, "She wants to meet the baby. I agreed, but any time she sees her, it has to be under our supervision." Jay nods, silently agreeing with her words.

Erin finds herself dozing for the remainder of the ride to her house; she already knows they're going to be going to bed early. He's yawning and she's fighting sleep. Going to bed within the next few hours was inevitable. They arrive home; Lindsay and Halstead drag themselves out of the car and when they reach the outside of their front door, they perk up. Jay inserts the key in anticipation, knowing that they're a few seconds away from seeing their favorite lady. He pushes open the door, lets his wife walk in first and follows closely behind her after closing and locking the front entrance, "I can hear her," he whispers; they're following the sounds of Haven's coos and babbles, which leads them into the living room. Annie is lying on the couch, flipping through a magazine on her lap while Haven lies on her back on a blanket spread out on the floor; her hands are in the air taking swipes at the dangling toys hanging a few inches above her. When her hand hits one, she coos and squeals in excitement, kicking her little legs every time the dangling toy moves. The baby opens and closes her small hands around the edge of the toys; they continue to loosely move and dangle, she squeals even louder, kicking her legs out to show her delight.

Her parents tiptoe around the corner, waving at Annie when she looks as they creep towards their daughter. Erin and Jay take a seat beside her on the floor; Jay removes the dangling toy from above her and when the baby spots her parents after hours of not seeing them, she smiles. She squeals. She kicks her legs repeatedly as she waits for one of them to pick her up. Erin does, and she takes in that loveable toothless smile that never fails to turn her into a big puddle of mush. Lindsay is sitting on her knees with her hands beneath the baby's underarms, holding her up and looking into her hazel eyes, "I wish there was a stop growing button somewhere so this little peanut here would stop growing up so fast!" Haven's tiny feet push down on her mother's legs with her weight being held up by her mother, "I'll trade anything for it." The more Haven bounces, the wider her mouth opens to smile. She's in a good mood, wide awake and definitely playful. Erin laughs, watching her baby babble, coo and squeal in delight at being bounced up and down on her mother's lap.

Jay watches the scene with such pride, love and joy. This is his family; the family he worked hard to get, the one he created and wouldn't trade anything in the world to change. Erin stops bouncing the baby, but Haven's smile remains; her wide open grinning mouth, releasing drool down her chin as her hand finds its way back inside her mouth. And that's when Erin spots it –a booger- resting at the tip of her nose. Motherly duties never stopped as she tries to pick it out. The baby grows irritated; her grin is gone and her face contorting to express an agitated expression, "Just hold still so I can pick that booger out of your nose," Lindsay tries to grab it carefully, making sure her nails didn't scratch her and once she snags it, the baby's happy mood immediately changes, "Here Jay," she holds Haven out with one arm, "take your child." Jay scoops her from his wife's arm and as she disappears to dispose of the booger and clean her hands, he stands and raises the baby into the air. Haven is in an obvious bad mood now –one brought upon her by her mother picking at her nose. And her dad immediately raises her spirits by lifting her into the air, holding her face down and his arm across her tummy to support her while gently swaying her front and back, side to side. His attempt at making airplane noises as he flies her around amuses both Annie and Erin as she reenters the living room.

Erin enjoys the view; she enjoys watching the baby smile as she is carefully flown around the living room by her father. She takes a seat next to Annie the second she finishes flipping through her magazine; she seems to bring one with her every day she babysits. She gets paid on Fridays and since the parents do not work every other weekend, her days off are scarce. Annie continues to watch Erin peering lovingly at Jay slowly and gently flying the baby around the living room, supporting her neck and her body with his large hands. She tosses her magazine to the side and extends her hand to take a hold of Erin's hand, "You know…motherhood looks really nice on you."

With her hand intertwined with Annie's, she responds, "She's the reason I smile every day," Lindsay grins as she takes in the open-mouthed, drooling grin of her daughter, "the reason I work for a better tomorrow and the reason I know what unconditional love is."

Jay continues to fly the baby around the living room before swinging her towards him, allowing him to place a quick peck against her cheek. She's three months old, but she's fun and silly. She may not have complete control over her neck or her legs right now, but the smiles and the squeals are enough. They're absolutely heart-warming and adorable. Jay pecks kiss after kiss against her cheek, earning a dimpled grin she reserved for those who are special and a squeal of delight. Erin chuckles, enjoying the happy squeals of her daughter; they're like music to her ears. With her hand still intertwined with Annie's, she feels a slight tug, feeling herself forced to draw her eyes away from Haven and towards her friend, "What's up?"

"Since you're my best friend and kind of like my boss," Annie starts, using her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose stressfully, "I'm not sure if I have to tell you, but since Jay raised the point and the concern the day you guys hired me, I feel like I should." This earns both of their attention, "Charlie is back in Travis's life and he has tried –twice to be exact- so far to rekindle our relationship. I have no desire to be with him, but I figured I should tell you guys. I feel like I was supposed to tell you guys because of how adamant you were about me steering clear of Charlie. I hope him coming back doesn't pose a problem for me babysitting her," Annie's eyes drift towards Jay as he lays Haven back down onto her blanket; she's now on her stomach doing her regular tummy time.

At three months old, her head is able to be lifted some by her own control. It's lifted for a few minutes –definitely a little longer than when she was two months old- and after her neck muscles grow tired, it's lowered back down. Lying tummy down and raising her head, chest a few inches from the ground and using her arms for support. This little mini pushup temporarily draws in their attention when she starts babbling and then unintentionally rolls over onto her back, "Whoops!" Jay exclaims, taking a seat on the floor and rolling her back onto her tummy; after doing so, he focuses back on the conversation with Annie, "How did he get into contact with you?" His hand softly rests against the small lower portion of Haven's back; she's in her own innocent world, a world where her happy and adorable coos and babbles sounds like 'muh muh' and 'bah-bah' -sounds that don't techically exist.

"He would normally call or text me," Annie answered, rising from her seat; she felt like she was in an interrogation room and in order to gain some control back, she needed to stand, "He's very persistent, but I've turned him down each time."

Halstead glances over at his wife, "Maybe we should find another babysitter…it's not you Annie, it's just that-"

She cuts him off immediately, "You're worried about him being around Haven. Charlie won't show up here; he doesn't even know where Erin lives. I just need to get through to him. He thinks since he's back in his son's life that he's automatically back in mine."

"Well he's obviously mistaken and he needs to back off before I get involved," Erin grunts in irritation, kicking off her shoes and lying back comfortably on the couch. She continues to hear the babbles and squeals of excitement from her daughter in the background of their conversation, but she didn't mind it; it was the only thing keeping her in a good mood.

Jay scoops the little one up as he stands, "No Erin, I want you to stay out of it."

"I'll leave him alone as long as he leaves my friend alone," she simply states, turning her head to glance at Annie as she prepares to leave, "Stay away from him," Annie nods. She doesn't argue or counter anything they've said, she needs this job and she knows that Charlie is bad news; they're her friends and they're just looking out for her. Erin gets up and approaches her friend as she zips up her jacket, "And you're in a new relationship, don't let Charlie ruin this for you."

Annie hugs her, "Okay Er," she nods in the embrace, "I'll see you guys tomorrow morning." She holds Erin a little longer than expected then pulls out of the hug before sending a quick wave to Jay as she leaves their home. She's tired and since she has to be over their house by eight in the morning, she needed all the rest she can get; Haven is a baby that keeps her on her toes.

With the infant sitting upon his lap with her back leant and resting against his chest, her small hand is wrapped his finger and when Erin retakes her seat next to him, his other arm wraps around her shoulders, bringing her in to lean against his chest. Jay pecks the top of her head as he watches her distractedly toy with the baby's free hand; her opposite hand is still wrapped around his finger. The side of his face rests against the top of his wife's head; she's relaxed against his chest, enjoying their family time, especially after today's events. He inhales her scent and sighs out, "Alright," he speaks up, "now that we're alone, let's order some dinner. I'm starving and we haven't eaten all day. Where's the menu to that burger place?"

"My mother is bringing dinner; it's the least she can do."

Jay nods and chuckles, "I just hope she doesn't poison my food." She laughs, bringing her other arm around to use both hands to lift the baby from her husband's lap. Erin leans back on the other end of the couch; she's no longer leaning against her husband's chest, but instead is now comfortably resting her back against the arm of the chair. She stretches out and rests her legs on Jay's lap before sitting the baby upon hers. The kid's legs are bent and her butt lay flat against her mother's stomach. The baby's hands playfully fly up and down, her mother's hand are lightly gripped around her waist to keep her sitting up, "She's in such a good mood," Erin laughs, "She must have had a really good day today."

"That's because she got to come see us in the middle of the day."

Erin nods in complete agreement with his rationale, "That makes perfect sense. Seeing her brought us joy and I guess the same vice versa…and not to mention, she got to see everyone at the station. She was the center of attention and we know how much she enjoys that."

"Yeah, she's definitely-" his words are cut off when the doorbell rings, looking over at his wife, he grins, "That should be your mother. She's right on time; I was starting to waste away," he adds, lifting Erin's legs off his lap in order to maneuver from below them.

Resting the baby against her hip, the little on lays her head against her mom. Erin toys with the baby's hand, holding it within her larger one. She brings Haven's hand towards her mouth and pecks kisses into her opened palm as they walk towards the door –as a family, preparing to greet her mother and introduce her to her granddaughter. Jay steps to the side of the front door and swings it open, revealing Bunny beneath her opened umbrella, holding a greasy bag of takeout food in her arms, "Here," she shoves the bag of food into Jay's arms, closes her umbrella and then steps inside, "It's getting crazy out there," she shimmies drops of water off her body, before opening and extending her arms, "Oh my, let me take a look at her."

Jay shoves a few fries into his mouth, "You have to wash your hands first." She pouts and rolls her eyes as Erin nods towards the bathroom.

Bunny disappears into the bathroom, scrubs soap all over her hands and rinses them beneath warm water. Erin stands in the kitchen, holding the baby and watching her husband take their burgers and fries out of the bag. The bottom of the brown paper bag was dripping with the grease from their burgers, watering their mouths as they anticipate the moment they'll get to bite into them. Jay tosses a few more fries into his mouth as Bunny reappears in the kitchen, "I've washed my hands. Now can I see her please?" Erin kindly passes the baby to her mother before taking a seat across from her husband. Seconds pass before they dive into their dinner, practically inhaling their food with how fast they're eating. Bunny is surprised, rocking the baby in her arms and watching them, "You two are eating like animals. When was the last time you ate?"

Erin grabbed a napkin out of the bag, "We snacked throughout the day," she answered, patting the napkin against the corners of her mouth, "but if you're asking about us eating an actual meal then it was last night," she takes another bite of her burger. Her mother takes a seat, holding the baby and setting her down at the edge of the table; her little legs dangle as she sits, facing her grandmother. Bunny strikes a goofy face and gets absolutely no reaction from the kid, "Hmm, she hasn't started smiling yet?"

"She has," Jay answered, grabbing a couple more fries.

Bunny looks back at the child and makes another face, "She won't smile for me."

"…maybe she's not the problem," Erin remarks, standing up to grab two beers from the fridge. She sets one in front of her husband before popping the cap of hers, "She loves to smile; it doesn't take much to get a grin out of her. It's actually weird that she won't even give you a side grin. It's like she knows," Lindsay takes a quick swig of her beer, before continuing; "You have to grow on her. And look at the bright side, at least she doesn't cry every time you pick her up."

Jay awkwardly looks elsewhere, trying everything in his ability to stay out of the conversation. Erin gets back to eating her burger while keeping an eye on her mother's interaction with her baby. She hears her talking to the kid, cooing at her and making the silliest of facial expressions, but nothing pulls a grin onto Haven's face; she watches her grandmother with a stoic look. Her face is rested as if she's aware of her mother's rocky relationship with Bunny, she even treats the older woman as such. Bunny lifts her off the table and raises her into the air above her head, "Mom, don't hold her like that," Erin reprimanded, setting her burger down and wiping the tips of her fingers with a napkin, "She doesn't like to be held like that."

"Oh sweetie, trust me, you used to love being held like this."

"She's not me," Erin argued, rising from her seat and walking over to take her baby, "She's a different baby, a different person, a different being. She's her own person, treat her as such," Lindsay takes her daughter from her mother's arms and walks back to her seat, retaking her chair and setting the baby down on her lap. She sits on her mother's thighs, leaning back against her chest, in between her mother's arms as Lindsay resumes eating. She's balanced, situated in the crack of her mother's closed legs and gnawing upon her small hand again –Bunny watches.

"You both are amazing parents," Bunny compliments, running her hand through her short hair.

Erin rolls her eyes, completely unaccepting of her mother's words, "How would you know? How would you even know what an amazing parent looks like? What happened to that saying, it takes one to know one? You were far from an amazing parent."

"There's also a saying along the lines of recognizing something that you aren't."

And Erin does accept that, "Thank you," she rises from her seat and hesitantly extends her daughter back towards her mother. Jay smiles at his wife, absolutely proud of her before turning to look at his mother-in-law, "And thanks Bunny."

Bunny nods at her son-in-law before turning back to give her granddaughter her undivided attention. She's lost in Haven's hazel eyes; the baby is calm and yawns when she finds herself growing tired. She played a lot today. Annie took her for a walk around the neighborhood. She was taken to a café for lunch, even though she only had a warm bottle of milk while Annie ate actual table food. She visited her parents at work and then she played even more when she got home afterwards. It was all catching up to her three month old body. She yawned again; her little mouth stretching open as her grandma watches and mimics the action, "I think this little girl here is tired. She's definitely ready for bed."

"She's not the only one," Erin responds, grabbing a napkin to wipe her hands, "I would hate to cut things short, but when this little nugget goes to sleep, we all go to sleep."

"I should be going anyway," Bunny rises from her seat; she awkwardly stands in place and checks the time, "It felt like I wasn't here that long. It has almost been an hour."

Lindsay looks at the time on the stove, "Seriously? We almost went a whole hour without arguing. We should be proud of ourselves."

"But we did argue," Bunny corrects.

"No."

"Yes we did."

Erin shakes her head and scoops the baby from her mother's arms, "That wasn't an argument. In comparison to how we've argued in the past, that discussion was far from an argument. We weren't arguing…now we are, but at the time we weren't."

"Whatever you say Erin…"

She lays the baby against her chest; her arms wrapped around Haven's bottom, "Whatever I say? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Erin bounces up and down, exasperatedly rocking her tired daughter, "If you have something to say, you need to say it. I thought this was going well."

"You barely spoke to me."

"You came over to meet your granddaughter, not to have conversations with me."

"I came over for both!" Bunny shouted, grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair and her umbrella from the floor, "I came over to meet her and I came over to mend things with you, but it continues to seem like I can't do anything right!"

"Bringing me burgers and fries won't magically mend our relationship," Erin hollered, hearing her tired baby grow fussy, "Did you really think coming over here for 45 minutes would repair the years' worth of damage done to our relationship? Did you think by me watching you cuddle and make silly faces at my kid would magically warm and melt my heart? That's not how this works! If you want our relationship to be normal, then you need to make the initiative and don't use my daughter to do it!"

The baby burst into tears; her cry was a mix between exhaustion and sadness. She was simply doing what she needed to do; she was responding to internal emotions and external feelings that were unknown to the adults in the room. Haven could feel her mother getting worked up. She could hear the arguing between her mother and grandmother. She didn't like it. And when Erin's hand rubbed against the back of her daughter's head, she pressed a kiss against the side in an effort to calm her. She shushes and bounces up and down, "Sshh…" she whispers into the baby's ear before averting her eyes towards her mother, "You know the way out."

Bunny nods, "I do want to be in her life. I just hope you don't allow our relationship to impact the one I could have with her." She leaves their home; the sounds of the baby's cry decrease in volume the further away from the house she walks. Once her mother is gone, Haven's cries begin to simmer down; her face pressed into the crook of her mother's neck as Erin continues to bounce her, a look of sympathy on her face as the guilt takes over, the guilt she has for being a part of the reason her daughter burst into tears in the first place. She looks over at her husband, he had silently watched the whole exchange; he hated getting involved in Erin and Bunny's disputes. Jay rises to his feet, "Are you okay?"

"I wish people would stop asking me that," she snaps.

"How about you take her up and get her ready for bed while I clean up down here."

Erin holds her baby close, inhales the fresh baby scent embedded into her hair and onesie before silently nodding. Jay watches her until she disappears up the staircase. It had been an extremely long day and while he truly feels his wife has unresolved issues with her own mother, he knew that most of what she said came from exhaustion. She was tired and irritated and the combination was not good for whomever it was directed towards. Jay throws all the trash into the trashcan, ties up the bad and grabs the empty beer bottles, setting them down in the recycle bin. He walked through the house, turning off each light as he left a room before taking a deep breath and heading up the stairs. He hated when Erin shuts down on him. He knows she isn't okay and he wished she would just tell him; let him know what she's really thinking so he can try and help her feel better. It pained him to see her upset. He reached the top of the stair and dragged himself into the bedroom, finding both Erin and Haven fast asleep.

The baby lies asleep beside her, in the center of the king-sized bed. The covers are crumbled up at the foot of it. Erin is leant back, a fairytale book opened on her lap and her head is rested forward –chin to chest- as her light, exhausted snores echo around the room. She's in one of his long shirts, no pants, and Jay tiptoes over, being careful and mindful not to wake up either lady. He slides the book off her lap, closes it and sets it down onto the nightstand. Jay carefully eases his wife down into a more comfortable position, pulls the covers up to her shoulders and then presses a lingering kiss onto her forehead before walking over to his side of the bed. He strips down to his boxers and t-shirt before crawling into bed, being extra cautious so he doesn't disturb the baby currently laid out and asleep on her back –arms and legs spread out. His wife's bedside light was already off and once he's under the covers, he turns his own lamp off. Rolling over to lie on his side, facing the baby, he starts to fall asleep, until, "I want to be everything my mother wasn't," his wife starts talking; she had woken up in a desperate need to get what's bothering her off her chest, "I want to be the kind of mother that Haven looks up to and respects," Erin rolls over onto her side, extending her hand to rub against the baby's back, "I don't want to be the mother that has to make amends for all the wrongs she has purposely done. I know I'm going to make mistakes, but I want to be the type of mother who will learn from them," she's emotional as she speaks, "My mother never really wanted me, at least that's what she made me feel like; I've always felt like an inconvenience to her, you know? And when I think about my baby, I think about what's best for her. I don't think about how I can use her to my advantage," she mutters, keeping her voice low so she doesn't disturb the baby's sleep, "My mother did that. The Harpers did that. I can't imagine her growing up, feeling the way I felt and doing the things I did. I'm scared that I'm going to do something wrong and she'll think of me the same way that I think of my mother." She doesn't expect to get a response; she just desperately needed to get that off her chest, to relieve herself of what's been bothering her since Bunny's visit.

Jay does respond; he responds because her words draw it out of him. It makes him think of his own father. He clears his throat and voices his own worries, "Will told my dad about her, Haven I mean and he hasn't even called," he whispers, his own hand finding comfort resting over his daughter's fingers, "My dad never calls, even before she was born, but I kind of figured he would at least pay a visit after her birth. It's obvious he didn't," Jay sighs, staring forward at the dark silhouette of his sleeping daughter, "He's never around. I think if he tries to come around now, I would shut the door on his face. I don't want him anywhere near me. I don't want him anywhere near her." His hand brushes over her head and slides down her back before finding comfort resting upon Erin's hand situated on her lower back, "I'm scared that if I let him in, I'll turn into him. I'll become him. I'm scared that my relationship with her will be like his relationship with his kids, with me and Will. My dad wasn't the best; my mom was, I just wish Haven could have met her."

Erin smiles and temporarily gets lost in her thoughts, "I wish Camille could have met her," her grin stretches even wider, "I wish Justin could have met her too," she feels his hand rub against hers, "If only they could see me now, see how motherhood looks on me and tell me if I'm doing it right."

"I think you're doing it just fine. I know there's no such thing as the perfect mother, but you sure as hell come close to it," he whispers, lifting her hand and pulling it close to peck the inside of her palm.

She asserts, "I love you."

And for a brief second they lean forward, hovering above Haven to allow their lips to meet and linger; their kiss remains for a few moments, his hand caressing the side of her face, until they finally draw apart, lying back down and succumbing to the exhaustion that has plagued them throughout the day.


	4. Four Months

Walking along the pathway leading to the minor league baseball game for children, Erin anticipates the moment she'll get to see her nephew. She absolutely missed him; Danny had reminded her of Justin and when she was in his presence, it felt like she was with him. With Olive living half an hour away, she only saw them every other weekend; all the adults were too busy with work, a social life and kids to see each other during the week. Erin wanted to change that. She wanted Haven to know her big cousin; she wanted her little girl to feel as connected to Justin as she does. Even though they're cousins, she wanted them to form a sibling relationship –one that is much closer and firmer than the one she had with Justin. The couple arrives to the bleachers; Danny is currently sitting on the sidelines while Voight berates the coach for not putting him in the game. Pushing the stroller up to Voight, he manages to give the poor coach a break to give the attention to his granddaughter, "You guys made it," Hank leans into the stroller and lifts the four month old out of it, "Danny will be glad to see you all here!"

"It may have been on the other side of town," Lindsay responds, approaching the cage and wrapping her fingers through it, "but we couldn't have missed this for the world."

The bleachers were sprinkled with relatives of the little boys and girls playing out on the field. They silently cheer in their seats, leaving the loud cheering to Voight and Olive. Seven year old Danny sits on the sidelines of the game; his eyes remain relaxed on his mother until he sees her approaching Erin –his aunt- he jumps to his feet and waves excitedly at her. Lindsay waves back at him just as enthusiastically. Olive pries the four month old from her father-in-law's hands, "I'm assuming Jay chose her outfit today," she mentions, noticing the baby is decked out in Cubs' colors –her onesie, the cap on her head and the socks covering her feet were all Cubs gear.

Halstead nods proudly, "I sure did. They play later today and I'm raising this one to be as big of a fan as I am. It's the first game of the season."

"Guys, guys," Erin calls out excitedly, bouncing up and down as she watches Danny approach the base, "Danny has the bat; he's about to swing." Jay rushes over, along with Olive and the baby; they're all lined up at the fence, silently cheering Danny on. He swings once –it strikes out. Erin takes a deep breath and continues watching her nephew, "Come on," she talks to herself in a tone barely above a whisper, "You can do it," she watches him swing again –it strikes out. And for the last time Erin's fingers clench around the cage of the fence; she's stressed as she watches her seven year old nephew swing the bat again and unfortunately it doesn't make impact with the ball, "That's alright," she enthusiastically cheers, "You tried your best!"

With his head hung low, he goes to take a seat on the bench as his next teammate approaches, holding his bat. She draws away from the fence, seeing Olive already sitting down, playing peek-a-boo with Haven while the baby sits upon Jay's lap. She enjoys the game; it's one of her many favorite things to do. As Olive continues to play the game of peek-a-boo, her daughter continues to coo and react every single time Olive reveals herself from behind her hands. As Erin takes a seat next to Jay, Voight goes back to the gate, calling orders and insults towards his grandson's coach. Erin's face goes from one of amusement at Voight's overbearing grandfatherly actions to shocked when the baby is suddenly placed in her lap; she immediately looks over at Jay, "Sorry, I have to go use the restroom," he glances at Olive and nods appreciatively when she points out the direction of the restrooms. Erin chuckles as she watches her husband walk away. Her hands are intertwined over her daughter's tummy, her head leant gently against the top of her four month's old head, and they're facing the direction of the game. The baby is in a good mood; her gummy smile beams as her chin is covered in drool. She's teething. That first tooth is struggling to push through, irritating her gums and increasing the amount of drool that soaks the top of her onesie. Her neck muscles are still being developed. As of right now, her head is leaned back, resting between her mother's bosom and below Erin's chin. She's content.

Jay departs the restroom, tosses the paper towel into the outside trashcan and then turns, suddenly bumping into a woman a few feet shorter than him. He reaches his hands out to steady her, the impact with his chest caused for her to stumble. Her face is flushed, "Thanks," she grins; the woman looks at him –from top to bottom, up and down- and she smiles even wider; he's attractive and his hands are stilled wrapped around her upper arms, "I'm Jennifer," she introduces herself and extends her hand the second he unwraps his from around her.

"I'm Jay," he replies, shaking her hand in return.

She nods her head in the direction of the field, "Are you here for the game?"

"Yeah," he answers, tucking his hands into his front pockets.

"Cool," she runs her hand through her naturally curly red-hair, "I am too. Which one is yours?"

"None of them," he comments, squinting over at the far away game, "I'm here to support my nephew. He's number twenty. What about you?"

"Both of mine are out there. My eight year old," she points to a little girl with a long red ponytail, "is number nine and my seven year old," she points towards a little boy, "he's number seventeen. It seems we're rooting for the opposite team Jay."

"It seems so."

"I'm sort of," she twirls a strand of her red hair, "my kids' good luck charm so we'll be winning this game. I always bring luck wherever I go, normally it's because I always get what I want."

"I take it it's hard for people to say no to you?"

She blushes, "Of course," Jenifer notices his eyes occasionally glance over towards the game; he's preparing to head over, that is until she sparks another conversation, "I see you're a Cubs fan."

Jay points towards the Cubs cap on top of his head, "What gave that away?"

"And you're funny," she flirtatiously hits against his arm.

"At least someone notices it."

"Whoever doesn't is just missing out."

"My sentiments exactly…" he laughs, tucking his hands back into his pockets, "Well, I should be getting back to the game. I need to check the score and see if we're beating your team."

She runs her hand back through her curly, red hair, "I highly doubt it."

"Do I sense a bit of nervousness?"

"Why would I be nervous?" She puckers her lips in a seductive pout, "And to prove I'm not nervous, how about we make a bet?"

"I'm listening."

"If your team wins, what do you want from me?"

She approaches him and waits to hear his response; he clears his throat and answers, "I want you to treat my nephew to some celebratory ice cream."

"I can do that," Jennifer takes another step closer, "And if my team wins then you have to treat me to dinner at a restaurant of my choice."

Jay slowly shakes his head, a smile still stretched across his face contradicting his gesture, "I normally wouldn't back down from a bet, but I'm going to have to back down on this one."

"What? Are you scared?" She mocks.

"I'm hardly ever scared."

"Then what is it? You don't like what I'm wagering?"

He scratches the back of his head, "Not really," his hand slides down the back of his head before running it across his neck, "and I honestly don't think my wife would like it either."

"Ah," she gets it; it all settles in and she nods in complete understanding of his behavior, "Why am I not surprised? All of the good men are either gay or taken."

"Hate to disappoint," he chuckles, eyes occasionally glancing over at the baseball field to watch the game, "…and look at the bright side, you always have your kids' dad."

"My children's fathers," she corrects, holding up two fingers to annunciate her point, "and let's just say they're out of the picture right now," Jennifer moves in closer.

And Jay takes an awkward step back, "Well, I should be getting back to the game."

"I'm hoping I'll see you later."

"It was nice meeting you Jennifer," he extends his hand to keep the distance between their bodies.

She holds his extended hand a little longer than usual, "Likewise." Jennifer regrettably releases it. She smiles, watches him walk away before turning to head into the restroom.

As Halstead walks back over to the stands, he sporadically takes a look over his shoulder –Jennifer is no longer watching him. By the time Jay reaches the stands, Danny is now on the in-field and he's guarding first base. He approaches the bleachers, spots his wife sitting in the second row; her feet are on the first row stand, her legs are closed and the baby lies on her back in her mother's lap. Erin is distracted from the game; she's playing with the baby in her lap while the baseball game continues in front of them. Jay climbs the bleachers and takes a seat next to his wife; his own attention divided between the game and watching Erin play with Haven. While the infant lies on her back on her mother's lap, Erin would spiritedly lean forward and give the baby an Eskimo kiss; she would lean over, become eye level with the baby, and rub her nose against hers and then lean back. Each time, the baby would smile and release a loud and excited squeal of delight.

Before Erin leans forward again to rub noses, the baby sneezes, "Bless you," Erin coos, watching the baby grin in response to her sneeze. She leans in forward, and begins rubbing noses while her daughter's little hands grab her mom's face; smiling, she opens her mouth and places the wettest of open-mouthed kisses upon her mother's nose, "Ew," Erin giggles, pulling her head back; the baby kicks her legs around wildly as she smiles and squeals at her mother's reaction. Lindsay leans back in to rub noses with the four month old and just as before, she gives her mother the exact same reaction. The baby cups her small hands around her mother's face when she leans in again and just like once before, Erin rubs noses with the infant and she kicks out her legs excitedly in reaction. Lindsay suddenly draws back when she hears her husband cheer; he stands to his feet and claps as her nephew's team scores. She looks over at her husband, waiting for an update, "We're still behind, but we're catching up."

She nods, sitting the baby up and turning her around in the direction of the game, "How is Danny doing?" Her question raises his brow, "…not good, huh?" Erin adjusts the baby in her lap, leaning her against her bosom as they face the baseball game. Haven, being a baby, is looking around everywhere but the game. As her mother adjusts the small Cubs socks around her little feet, she begins gnawing upon her hands.

The baby sneezes and smiles once again. The past couple of days she had been getting over a cold; now she's starting to feel much better. With her head focused in the direction of the game, her peripheral vision has the main focus. She sees Olive having a discussion with two of the other mothers. She tries to ignore it; she tries to focus completely on the game and not eavesdropping on their conversation. Olive is standing at the refreshment table, filling her plastic cup with Gatorade while responding to the women's complaints, "They're just kids and it's the first game. They're all doing so well out there."

"I guess…" one of the mothers –Wendy- roll her eyes.

"It's just a game."

"Ha, you're joking, right?" One of the other mothers –Irene- cackles, lightly covering her heart with the palm of her hand, "Look Olivia, is it?"

"Olive," she corrects.

Irene lays her hand gently against Olive's shoulder, "Well Olive, this isn't just a game. It's a way of life. These kids start off small and then with practice and hard work, they make it big."

"My son is just doing this for fun."

"And you wonder why my husband won't put him in the game more?" Wendy retorts after taking a small sip of her water, "My little Gavin has yet to miss a ball. He's the best the team has to offer."

Scooping the baby up and flushing her against her chest, Erin stands. She notices her husband's wandering eye watch her as she steps down from the bleachers. He tunes back into the game, watching the kids play and listening to Voight shout at the coach for keeping Danny out of the game. He starts clapping his hands when the team goes to the in-field; Danny is now back guarding first base. Voight is content, knowing his grandson is back in the game and actually doing something useful. He steps back to cheer on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Erin is carefully stepping down the bleachers with the baby resting on her hip. She walks over, with the fake intent of getting something to drink, and as she approaches, she sees the pleading look on Olive's face, requesting assistance, "Danny is doing great out there Olive," Erin compliments, walking over to the group of women, "I'm so proud of him."

Irene grunts, "He can do better."

"He's trying," Erin defended.

"Well, he needs to try harder."

"What's your problem?"

"Excuse me?"

Erin switches the baby to her opposite hip, "I've been listening to you two berate these kids from the sidelines! Cut them a break! They're kids. Let them be kids!"

"You don't understand," Wendy chimes in.

"No, you don't understand!" Erin argues, cutting the woman off, "You're putting pressure on your son. You're turning an innocent game of baseball into some crazy competition. The players aren't getting paid. The players aren't getting drafted. They're playing to have fun, not to be drilled and hounded by some crazed obsessed mother in the fucking stands! And since you're such a professional in the game, won't you go out there and play?"

Wendy holds her head up obnoxiously high as she crosses her arms over her chest, "Cursing in front of your baby, how mature?"

"You of all people shouldn't be offering me parenting advice."

Olive grabs her friend's arm, "Alright Erin, let's go." She pulls her in the direction of the fence after noticing Erin's irritation grow heated at the current exchange. She yanks her towards the sidelines and breathes out a sigh of relief, "You don't know how much I've wanted to say that to her at every practice."

"Why didn't you?"

"You know I'm not that type of person."

Erin shakes her head, completely unaccepting of her response, "Well sometimes you have to be or people like her will walk all over you."

Olive nods, not wanting to speak further on the issue; instead, she looks up at the scoreboard, sighing at the numbers she's reading, "And we're losing."

"It's just the first game of the season," Erin responds, looking up at the scoreboard; she knows there is no way that Danny's team will catch up in time, but she remains looking at the bright side, "And it teaches good sportsmanship. You have to know how it feels to lose so you can appreciate it when you win."

Wrapping her fingers through the wires of the gate, Olive sighs, "Maybe baseball isn't the game for him?" She watches her son fail to catch the ball in his mitt.

"Was it your idea that he played?"

"No, he came up to me because his school friend is also on the team."

Erin approaches the gate, "So why did he want to play?" She switches the baby to her opposite hip and leans against the fence, facing Olive and watching as she observes her son.

"I don't know. I guess to have fun."

"Well, is he?"

Olive slowly nods, "It looks like it."

"So leave it at that. It was his idea to start, let it be his idea to end. None of these kids care about the scoreboard; they're just having fun, don't take that away from him."

"Kids can be mean Erin," Olive worries, sighing as she watches the other team score.

Erin nods in the direction of the other mothers, "It seems to me that the only two mean people out here are Thing one and Thing two."

Olive looks over and smiles, watching as the two mothers angrily grumble and pace at the score on the scoreboard. If she had to look for the one good thing about her son's team losing, it had to be the reactions of Wendy and Irene. Olive moves closer to Erin, throwing her arm around her shoulder and squeezing her tight, "Justin was right."

Erin glances over, "Right about what?"

"You," Olive simply answers, drawing her arm from around Lindsay's shoulders, "When we first started dating, all he talked about was Voight, Camille and you. He bragged about you all the time; my sister, the cop, the walking and talking personification of a badass. I can see it now though. I can see what he was referring to," she stared at Erin, watching her reaction and the second a tear slipped from her eye, Olive immediately began regretting her words, "I didn't say that to make you cry."

She wipes her eyes, "I know and Olive thanks for inviting us. I appreciate it."

"Of course; you're family. And I really want Danny to know his dad's side," Olive replies, "I want him to know stories about Justin growing up that only you and Voight can give him."

Erin chuckles, "And I have plenty," she regathers her arms around the baby, flushing her up closer and setting a light peck against her daughter's temple, "Afterwards Jay and I are going home, I'm making dinner and we're watching the baseball game; you can join us if you want."

"I work the night shift. Can we get a raincheck?"

"Of course…I'll be holding you to it."

Cheers of applause and groans of disappointment ring out as a team scores; Erin eagerly looks over at the scoreboard, noticing the increase in the other team's score. At this point they know Danny's team will not win, but they at least wanted to close in the gap between scores as much as possible. They didn't want to lose with such a big difference in numbers. Wendy runs up to the gate, "Come on guys!" The coach's wife aggressively wraps her fingers around the wires of the fence and shakes it, "Play like you want to win. You'll walk away either as winners or losers; it looks to me like you'll be walking away as losers if you don't get your act together!" She draws her hands away and claps loudly; her eyes hidden behind her sun glasses but from the creases in her forehead, everyone is aware of the scowl on her face, "Come on team! Did you come to lose because that's what it's looking like?! Play like you want-"

"Would you fucking quit it?" Erin snapped, silencing Wendy with the angered expression plastered on her face. When Wendy gets the hint, grunts and storms off, Lindsay exasperatedly turns back to face Olive, "Alright seriously," she whispers to her nephew's mom, "don't tell that witch, but I do need to stop cursing in front of the baby. The last thing I need is for Haven's first word to be a curse word. I wouldn't hear the end of it from Jay."

"Speaking of Jay…" Olive nudges.

When Olive points him out, Erin's curiosity is sparked, forcing her to take a glance over in his direction. Jay remains sitting on the bleachers, watching the game; the only difference is this time there's a red-headed woman sitting next to him, talking, giggling and flirtatiously batting her eyes, twirling her hair and tossing the dangling strands over her shoulder. Erin turns her back to the game, leaning against the fence with her baby moved from her hip to rest and lean on her chest, "Who is that?" Jay does seem to entertain the conversation the woman is having with him, but he's hardly paying any attention; he's focused on his nephew and the game their unfortunately losing.

"I only know about her through word of mouth," Olive answers, leaning her own body against the fence to watch the woman, "At the last practice, when the parents found out who the kids are playing against they all shared this look. One of the moms showed me a team picture and that's Jennifer; apparently she has broken up more marriages than one could count. Both of her kids playing today have been with married men. She throws herself at absolutely everyone in search of Mr. Right. She hasn't had any look in finding him, but she doesn't seem to be giving up any time soon."

"Hold her for a sec," Erin speaks up, passing the baby to Olive, "I'll be right back," and before Olive can stop her, call her back over, or try to see what Lindsay's going to do, she's already gone, approaching Halstead and the woman, "Hey Jay." She doesn't sit beside her husband, but purposefully takes the seat on the opposite side of the woman, leaving the lady sitting between her and Jay. Erin extends her hand towards the red-head when she notices her confusing expression, "Hi, I'm Erin."

She shakes her hand, "I'm Jennifer, are you Danny's mom?"

"Aunt."

She looks from Erin to Jay –back and forth twice, "And how do you two know each other?"

The expression Lindsay gives her husband is questioning; she's wondering if she was even mentioned at all. Jay picks up on it; he looks over when he doesn't hear Erin answer Jennifer's question, and he can tell by the look on his wife's face that she isn't happy. She's eyeing him suspiciously, questioning him with her eyes on why Jennifer doesn't know about her, however Jennifer does, she just hasn't made the connection, so before Erin can call him out, he immediately answers, "This is my wife."

"Oh, she's the wife."

Erin nods, portraying a stretched-out and forced smile, "I'm the wife."

"Well you're a lucky lady," Jennifer sighs, jokingly nudging Lindsay's side.

"I sure am."

"So," Jennifer speaks up, clasping her hands and turning to face Erin, "how long have you two been married? If you don't mind me asking…"

Erin draws her eyes away from the game, "This year it'll be seven years."

"Wow, a few years shy of the big ten."

"Yep," Erin squints at her suspiciously. Meanwhile, Jay remains entranced in the game, dividing his attention between the baseball game and his wife's conversation.

"How did you two meet? If you don't mind me asking…"

Erin sighed, "We work together." She found it odd how interested and invested Jennifer seemed to be in the current conversation; her kids were out there playing and currently winning the first game of the minor league baseball season, yet she was more preoccupied with Lindsay's relationship with Jay.

"That has to be messy."

"Only if you allow it to be," Erin responds, preparing to further her explanation while turning back to the game, "We're both adults and we're both able to be professional. We started out as friends first and then started a relationship. Work is work and we're partners on the job, personal stuff can wait."

"So you two are pretty strong?"

"Yeah, we're just like every other married couple."

Jennifer continues to pry, "And the kid? How does she fit into all of that? If you don't mind me asking…"

"What's with all the questions? If you don't mind me asking…" The irritation is evident in Erin's voice.

"I'm just curious."

"You're curious about my life? Or are you just curious about my life in regards to my husband?" Erin asks, clasping her hands together as she leans her arms against her lap, awaiting Jennifer's response. She watches and waits, observing the thought process of the woman as she thinks about how to react. She isn't intimidated. She goes for what she wants –the bigger the challenge, the better. She notices the possessiveness in Lindsay's eyes and after shoving a strand of curly red-hair behind her ear, she finally responds, "Cute...the whole jealous wife thing, you're definitely cute for that."

"And you're sad," It was the only way Erin could think to respond; she has never been called cute in such a condescending way before, and when she shifts in her seat to respond further, she notices Jay forcing himself to focus on the game instead of on her conversation, "Do you pride yourself in coming after married men? Or has that just been a thing of the past?"

With a roll of her eyes and a glance in the direction of Olive approaching holding a baby decked out in Cubs paraphernalia, she says, "I see you've been talking to some of the other moms about me. All good things I hope?"

"Just for the record," Erin utters, watching as Olive approaches holding Haven securely in her arms, "my husband isn't interested." And Jennifer merely gives her a mocking grin and salutes. Without taking her eyes off of Jennifer, she scoops the baby from her friend's arms, nods when Olive informs her that she's going to the restroom and then stands the baby on her legs.

Her hands gripped securely around the baby's waist; the infant's feet rest unsteadily against her mother's thighs, but with Erin securing her weight and holding her up right, her legs continuously give in, causing the four month old to bounce. She's smiling, revealing her drooling gums as a tooth works to protrude through, causing the baby significant discomfort which is eased either by her hand, the teething ring or the teething ointment they picked up from the pharmacy. The baby is leant forward –hands on mom's face- while her feet remain wobbly implanted on Erin's lap. Recently, the baby found herself regularly giving open-mouth kisses where she'll grab the face of whomever lap she is on, leans it and sloppily sets a wet and slobbery open-mouth kiss onto their face. Lindsay chuckles when the baby's kiss collides with her cheek, "You silly girl," she coos, drawing back, "Ick," she laughs, using the back of her hand to wipe the drool off her cheek.

"Cute baby," Jennifer compliments, watching the adorable interaction, "looks just like her dad."

"She's probably ready for a bottle," It's the first time Jay speaks up since Erin came over. He was aware of the conversation, he could hear every word, but he just chose not to add to it. His wife could handle herself especially when she's up against someone of Jennifer's caliber. However, when Olive brings the baby over, he's forced to give it his undivided attention; he didn't want Haven brought into the middle of anything. Jennifer's backhanded compliment of the baby sends an annoyed expression across Erin's face; it was intended to be an insult; the backhand of it came across like a compliment but when heard in its entirety, it was meant to offend her. Jay scoops the baby from his wife's hands, her own eyes focused on Jennifer as her husband carries Haven towards her stroller.

Jennifer doesn't even notice the roll of Erin's eyes; her own focus is on Jay feeding a bottle to the baby lying in his arms. She watches in envy, sighing as he bounces the little girl, "There's something about seeing a guy with a baby that makes him ten times more attractive," she watches him as he watches the game; it's soon to be over so she wants to take as much of him in as possible, "It's sexy."

As Haven drinks her bottle, one hand rests on top of her father's hand as the other touches and explores the side of his face. Her eyes on him; she takes in every blemish, freckle and crease in his face. With every day that passes, she recognizes him more and more; she enjoys the moment he walks in after work. The whole day she misses him and for today, she gets to spend the entire day with her parents; it's a moment that doesn't come too often since they both started working. She coughs, and he pulls the bottle back, places her on his shoulder and gives her back a pat. She continues to cough –the milk obviously going down the wrong metaphorical pipe. His attention is no longer on the game, but tending to her. Jay sets the bottle down in her stroller in order to have both hands free, patting her back and rocking her side to side, he waits for the burp and doesn't get upset when spit up follows. He simply grabs a wipe out of her diaper bag, maneuvers her to one arm and wipes his shoulder down.

Erin observed Jennifer as she watched; her hand cupping her chin and her elbow resting against her thigh as she practically drools over watching Erin's husband tend to his content baby; she sighs dramatically and only turns her head away when Lindsay speaks up, "I know you probably love seeing it with your kids and your husband." From her conversation with Olive, she knew Jennifer wasn't married and that Jennifer is not with any of her children's fathers, but since Erin absolutely doesn't like her at all, she had no problem bringing any of it up. There was no hesitation or reluctance.

"I would if I was married. However, I'm single and looking."

"Well maybe you should start looking elsewhere because he's taken," Lindsay reminds, standing up to walk down the bleachers. She doesn't give Jennifer any more attention as she tucks her hands into her back pockets and approaches her husband. Jay remains holding the baby, once again feeding Haven the rest of her bottle as she lies comfortably in his arms, "What was all of that about?" He wonders, rocking the baby in his arms as his wife approaches, "You look like you're seething."

The forced smile on her face stretches even wider, "I'm fine. I'm not upset. I'm so fine. I'm definitely fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're jealous."

She shakes her head, "Maybe…possibly, just a little," she starts nodding, giving in, "She was practically undressing you with her eyes."

"Don't you think you're seeing too much into this?"

"Nope, not at all," Lindsay crosses her arms, turning to face the game, "She likes you and I can't blame her, but she needs to get it through her thick head that you're taken and you're not interested."

Jay chuckles; he sets the empty bottle down into the cup holder of the stroller, "You're insane."

"Ha, if I'm insane then you're blind."

Holding the baby in one arm; his arm wrapped around her stomach and her back flushed against his chest, he approaches his wife, uses his free arm to wrap around her shoulders, "You're impossible."

She smirks up at him, "And you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Without verbally responding to her comment, he leans his head down and presses his lips against hers. His arm slides down her back, lightly roams over her waist before falling down to grasp her hand. He lifts it, ignores the buzz of the scoreboard as the game comes to an end, and pecks the open palm of her hand. The game was over. And he didn't let go. He keeps their hands firmly joined together as they watch the two teams leave the field, walking and running to see their family and friends on the bleachers. Danny's team lost and the mood is clearly implanted on the whole team's face. He's dragging his feet, walking over to his mom's opened arms. Erin watches, covering her heart with her free hand, "Aw look at his face," the young couple walks over as Danny is hugged tightly and pecked twice on the cheek by his proud mother. She's congratulating him and holding him securely in her protective arms while he continually whispers to her about the fact that he lost the game; he's sad, completely disappointed and at a loss of words. Erin releases Jay's hand and stoops low behind Danny, tapping his shoulder to gain his attention, "That's okay buddy; there's always the next game."

"I wanted to make you and grandpa proud."

Erin pulls Danny into her arms, hugging her nephew close, "Well if that's the case then you succeeded."

"I did?"

"Definitely kid," Voight squeezes his shoulder encouragingly, "You're a winner to me and you tried your best. That's all that matters. Better luck next time, right?"

"Right."

"That's what I'm talking about," Jay cheers, raising his free hand and laughing when Danny jumps into the air to give it a high five. Their hands slap together and the little boy is suddenly in a much better mood. He jumps back into the air, trying to take a look at the baby in Halstead's arms. When he's unable to get a good peek, he grabs Jay's arm to lower it, "I want to see her."

"Be careful Danny; don't grab his arm like that," Olive reprimands while nervously watching her son tug on Jay's arm that is holding the baby against his chest.

As the family walks out of the field and towards the parking lot, he lowers the baby. Holding her up, arm beneath her bottom and his other arm around her stomach as her feet dangle. Erin is pushing the empty stroller as Danny animatedly tells her and Haven about school, his toys, baseball and his new friends. He's practically skipping on his feet, so excited to be surrounded by his family and more specifically his aunt and baby cousin. He's being very helpful as he talks about his school grades; he takes the car keys from Erin and races over to her car to pop the trunk. Jay makes eye contact with his wife as she speeds up to catch up to him and when Halstead prepares to do the same, he hears his name being called out, "Jay!"

He turns to see Jennifer running over, waving him down, "My team won," she brags.

"Congratulations," he dryly responds.

"Unfortunately, you backed out of our bet."

Erin closes the trunk after folding and placing the stroller inside. Danny tosses his aunt the keys and takes a hold of her hand as they walk over to Jennifer and Jay who continues to hold the baby. Lindsay pulls her hand out of Danny's grip and places them upon his shoulder, she's talking to him as they walk over but no one can hear what's being said. The little boy is laughing, clenching his stomach and chuckling at a joke that was definitely not that funny. Soon enough, they reach the talking duo, "Hey babe, you ready?" She grins when her husband nods and then looks over to the woman he's talking to, "Hi Jennifer."

"Erin, it's nice seeing you again," Jennifer replies, straightening her posture and calmly pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm looking forward to the next time our teams play each other. Hopefully we can make another bet Jay," she winks at him and Erin suddenly gets the feeling that there's an inside joke or discussion between the two. She doesn't look at Jennifer for the answer, but her eyes do rest upon Jay, "Bet? What bet?" And when Jennifer's kids call her over, she uses the opportunity to back away quietly, leaving the two to continue their conversation.

"It's not important. It never happened," he shrugs it off and resumes walking towards the car.

She attempts to accept his response and whispers, "Hmm," she nods.

Lindsay stands beside her nephew, feet planted firmly on the ground as she watches her husband approach their car. He opens the backdoor, leans in to strap the baby in her car seat, and when she's about to approach to possibly probe further into the bet, her nephew's arms are thrown around her and his head buries into her back, "I'm really going to miss you!" His words are smothered by his face being pressed into her back as he embraces her tightly, "Since you had Haven, you stopped visiting me."

"I told you it's because your Aunt Erin has been pretty busy," Olive makes her presence known as she walks over; Voight following closely behind.

Danny lets go and steps back, "Too busy to see her favorite nephew?"

"I'm sorry buddy; you're right. I need to do a better job. How about on my next day off and your mom's next day off we go to the batting cage and you can teach me some of your baseball moves?"

"Okay," he nods disappointedly, "if you want, but I'm not that good."

"You're better than me."

"…then you must be horrible," he says, earning laughs from his aunt, mother and grandfather. He ends up smiling as well, giving in and chuckling at his own comment.

Erin's laugh dies down, "So do we have a plan?"

"Is the baby going to come?"

"Do you want her to?" Erin looks over at her car, observing Jay get into the driver's seat and wait patiently for her to join him. She averts her attention back to her nephew as he rocks forwards and backwards while shaking his head, "No," he murmurs, "I just want you, mom and grandpa."

"Why?" It's Olive who speaks up next, wrapping her hands around her son's shoulders.

"She takes all the attention. It's not fair." Danny grumbles, "She can't even play baseball. She doesn't even know how to play. I love her, but I don't want her to come."

"Then we'll be the only ones there kid," Voight assures, stooping low to be eye level with his grandson, "Haven will stay home with her dad."

Danny steps forward and wraps his arms around his aunt once again, holding her tight and inhaling her scent. He missed her. He always saw his grandfather at least once a week, but recently it became rare for him to see his aunt. Danny feels Lindsay's hand run over his back, before she leans over to peck the top of his head, "This isn't goodbye. It's see you later," she looks over at Hank, "Are you heading home?"

"No, I'm going to treat this guy to some yummy ice cream."

"Ice cream?" Danny immediately steps out of the hug, "YES!" He excitedly jumps into the air. He is no longer upset over his aunt leaving; he's ready to leave and get ice cream. Danny waves goodbye at Erin, every prior sad emotion he felt was forgotten at the thought of being brought ice cream. He's ready and grabs his mom's hand and his grandfather's wrist and begins tugging them towards the car, "Drive safe guys." Olive shouts, waving as she's pulled away. She chuckles and proceeds to walk to the vehicle.

Waving at her baby in the back seat before hopping into the passenger seat, she straps herself in and turns to her husband as he steers the car out of the parking lot. She hears the baby cooing in the backseat, holding her feet as her babbles fill the silence of the car. Erin is unable to see her since the front of Haven's car seat is faced towards the back of the car; the baby's hazel eyes traveled around her nearest surroundings. She's in her own world, kicking her feet out and occasionally gnawing upon her teething ring. Lindsay looks over to her husband, watching him steer the wheel with one hand as the other rests upon the armrest in the center. The passing trees are boring to watch as they ride upon the highway; she doesn't watch the scenery, she has seen it all on her way here. Instead, Lindsay watches her husband, "So," she clears her throat, speaking over her daughter's babbles, "I'm curious to know what this bet with Jennifer was all about?"

"Are you jealous?"

"No."

"You're jealous," he teases.

"I'm curious," she corrects, pointing her finger at him assertively, "and who knows, maybe I want to get in on the bet?"

"I doubt it."

"Come on," she pleads, turning completely around in her seat to face him, "are you going to make me beg? I want to know. Tell me."

Jay laughs, "You're too much sometimes. If Danny's team won, she was supposed to treat him to ice cream," he notices her brow rise, waiting for him to continue, "and if her team won then I would have to treat her to dinner at a restaurant of her pick."

Lindsay rolls her eyes, "That woman is persistent, I'll give her that."

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad? You turned her down."

Jay shrugs, "I don't know," he reaches his free hand over to grab hers, "I know how we get sometimes."

"You're right, but since the Tyler incident," she hesitates and sighs; it's a brief moment to gather herself together before continuing, "I put myself in your shoes. It's not your fault that she finds you attractive. You turned her down and that's all you can really do. I understand." He squeezes her hand. And when an intense mood fills the car, she decides to change the conversation, "We need to stop at the grocery store," her voice perks up as if seconds ago it wasn't filled with a somber tone, "I'm going to make some homemade chicken noodle soup and I need to pick up the ingredients."

Jay simply nods without uttering a word. The subject of Tyler always changes the atmosphere. The mood always drastically shifts when he's brought up. There are a lot of unresolved issues and feelings when it comes to him. Since going back to work, Erin cut back on her visits with Dr. Charles; she only had sessions once every two weeks. They're both trapped in their own minds and by the time they focus back on the present, on reality and their surroundings, they are parked outside of the grocery store. Lindsay goes to retrieve a cart as Jay sets and carries the baby in the carrier strapped to his chest. His hand toys with one of hers as her head rests idly against his chest; she's cooing and babbling to herself as her legs dangle. He holds his hand against the back of his daughter's head, pressing his lips against it before looking both ways and crossing the street, "Hey babe," he calls out, picking up his pace to keep up with her, "The game comes on in half an hour."

She smiles, "I'll make it quick."

"You're the best," he announces, following closely behind her as they enter the store, "Haven and I thank you. She's excited to watch her first Cubs game with her dad," he pulls the baseball cap off his head and sets it on top of his daughter's head; she grins when the cap practically covers her head; it's huge in comparison to the size of her head. As they follow her mom through the store, he plays with the infant, continuously pulling his hat off her head and then placing it back down. She smiles and coos every time.

By the time Erin is ready, he checks the time and realizes his wife managed to grocery shop in fifteen minutes –completely impressive since it normally takes her at least an hour. As they stand in line, he sets the baseball cap back down onto the baby's dirty blonde hair and quickly pulls it off, she smiles once again, this time it's even bigger, revealing some of the deepest dimples in her cheeks causing him to lean his head and peck her dimple. She squeals and kicks her feet excitedly. And everyone within the immediate vicinity hearts swell; the sight is absolutely adorable. Lindsay watches her little family and the only time her attention is pulled away is to pay for her groceries. She grabs the two grocery bags and followed her husband out of the store. He was walking faster than normal, trying to speed up the process so they can get home and he can turn on the game –it'll start in ten minutes. The groceries are placed in the backseat and Erin runs the cart back while Jay straps the baby inside her car seat. She's wide awake, kicking her little legs and balling up her small fists, "You're excited about the game too princess?"

"I'm ready," Erin hops into the passenger seat, "Let's head home."

Within seconds, he hops back into the driver's seat and pulls the car out of the parking spot. Fortunately, the streets weren't crowded. Most of the public were home, preparing to watch the game. She sees the enthusiasm in her husband as he excitedly –and impatiently- drives home; if they were in a cop car, she had no doubt that he would put on the sirens. It seemed to be their luck –or lack thereof- because they seem to make every red light on their way home. The ride was growing too long for all of them, more importantly the baby, she started to kick her legs and whine. Erin was seated in the passenger seat and couldn't tend to the infant during the ride, so for now, she sat shifted in her seat and talking to her baby from the front, "We're almost there Hav."

"She doesn't want to miss the game," Jay replies, turning the car onto their street, "Isn't that right?"

Erin rolls her eyes, "You two haven't missed much. Baseball games are so freaking long and it just started fifteen minutes ago. There is so much of the game left to watch."

"Havie, your mom doesn't understand," Jay calls out to the backseat; his voice quiets the baby, "She's a baseball fan, but she's not one like us. I've tried to explain the importance of the games to her, but you'll just have to do it when you're older."

The moment the car is placed in park, Erin hops out, "You get the bags and I'll get the baby." Jay doesn't put up any argument; his mind was set on making one trip, carrying all the bags on his arms and rushing to the front door, only setting them down once to unlock the door and for good once he made it to the kitchen. By the time Erin reaches the front door –holding the baby on her hip- Jay is already laid out on the couch watching the baseball game. She walks into the kitchen, shaking her head, "Men and their sports," she mutters, maneuvering the baby around in her arms as she pulls her little Cubs sweater over her head, "She'll be in here with you while I cook," she tells her husband, setting the baby in the swing.

Jay hears everything she has said, but he's too preoccupied with the game to verbally respond –he simply nods. As he watches the game, he slides her swing over closer, angling her towards the television. They're both decked out in their Cubs gear; he's relaxing on the couch, legs wide open with his back resting against the cushion. His Cubs cap remains on his head and he turns it around so the snapback is backwards; he watches the play on the screen and only briefly turns away when his wife brings him a beer, "Thanks babe," he winks.

"You're welcome," she replies before disappearing again. With such an active household, Jay has learned the art of drowning out other noises when he's focused on his sports. His wife is humming in the kitchen as she prepares dinner and his daughter is babbling to herself as she gently swings back and forth. Jay doesn't hear either noise, especially when he shouts out annoyingly at his team for making a bad play. The baby finds interest in her feet, tugging the socks off her feet and bringing them to her mouth to gnaw down upon. Jay doesn't notice until the babbling stops, until he no longer hears her imitating speech with sounds like baba while squealing in delight every time she hears her own voice. Halstead notices her gnawing on her Cubs socks, drying her mouth as her saliva seeps into its fabric. With his eyes still on the game, he leans over to grab the socks from her, "Thank you," he slides the socks out of both of her hands. Haven's whole teething process had been painless; the parents had heard plenty of stories involving screaming and irritated infants growing teeth, but they've yet to experience it to that extreme. The first teeth that are slowly penetrating through are the two middle ones at the bottom, center of her gums. Gnawing on a teething ring, her hands and apparently socks seem to soothe her swollen and red gums where the two teeth are trying to cut through.

The game continues to play on the television as the aroma of his wife's homemade chicken noodle soup swarms the house. His stomach growls as he waits for the call that dinner is ready. Jay tunes back into the game, drowning out the sounds of his daughter's squeals, coos and gurgles, his wife's humming and tapping feet as she dances around in the kitchen while cooking and the doorbell ringing. Holding the large wooden spoon in her hand, she skeptically walks towards the door, "Were you expecting company?"

"No," he answers distractedly, his eyes still focused on the baseball game.

As she walks, her arms swinging and the spoon swaying back and forth, "Normally people call to give us a heads up if they're coming over," she approaches the door and takes a peek outside of the side window, "She looks familiar but I'm not sure where I've seen her from," Erin calls out to her husband before opening the door, portraying her best smile she greets the woman, "Hi."

"Hi, I'm here to see Jay."

"Come on in," Lindsay responds, using the wooden spoon to wave the woman inside, "Jay, you have company!" She shuts the door behind the guest and waves for the woman to follow, "He's watching the baseball game."

"Still the biggest Cubs fan I know," the woman chuckles, and then suddenly stops walking, "Oh, I am so rude," she extends her hand, "I'm Aly…an old friend of Jay's."

Lindsay shakes her hand, "I'm Erin."

"I've heard so much about you from my parents."

"All good things I hope."

"Definitely," Aly agrees; the smile on her face unexpectedly stretches ten times wider when she spots Jay walking into the kitchen, "Hey stranger."

He hugs her, "Hey Aly! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in-"

"Forever," she finishes.

Lindsay steps away from the conversation in order to resume cooking dinner. She rinses off the spoon and approaches the pot to continue stirring the broth, listening in closely as Aly and Jay catch up. He pulls out of the hug and takes her in, "I wasn't expecting this visit, not that I'm complaining."

"I was in town to visit my parents and they mentioned that you're a dad now."

The smile on Jay's face is priceless; his expression is filled with love as he thinks about his little girl in the next room. Beaming proudly from ear to ear he nods enthusiastically, "I sure am. Little girl," he holds up four fingers, "four months now."

"Congratulations," she exclaims, patting his back before looking over at Erin, "to you too."

She looks up from the homemade soup, "Thank you Aly."

"I need to be at the airport in an hour and since your house was on the way, I figured I should stop by," Aly explains, rubbing her hands together eagerly, "And I did miss you Jay, but in all honesty, I came to meet your little angel. I want to see the little girl that stole the heart of the high school kid who used to flirt with anything that wore a skirt and sweet talk his way out of detention." This perks up Erin's ears and she listens in more intently, "I mean my dad used to always joke around and say that since you were such a ladies man with such an innocent face that you were going to end up with a daughter."

He waves for her to follow him into the living room, "Let's just hope he was wrong about the whole reap what I sow aspect when it comes to my kid," he smirks, leading Aly up to the swing, "I can't have my mistakes affect her. It wouldn't be fair."

Aly was one of Jay's first relationships in high school. The two started out as friends and had decided to try out an actual romantic relationship. After everything went down with her brother, they decided to call it quits and they have remained friends ever since; she had seen him in school. He never used women or was the stereotypical high school jock with girls lining up around the corner, but he was the pretty boy in high school. He was the gentleman; he was the guy that every girl wanted because he was so kind –a jokester, yes- but he had a heart of gold. Her dad used to always make jokes and comments about how Jay would unknowingly lead the girls on and by the time they realized he didn't want a relationship, a trail of tears and broken hearts would be in its wake. Her dad would warn him, saying something along the lines of it's always the ladies' man that ends up with a daughter who may reap what the parent has sown. As they reach the swing, Aly's eyes grow wide at the sight of her, at the view of baby Halstead swinging gently back and forth while gnawing upon a teething ring, "Oh my gosh, I still can't believe you're a dad," she watches him lift up the baby from her swing, "Hi gorgeous," Aly waves.

"This is Haven," Jay introduces, holding the baby in his arms. His muscular arm wrapped around her stomach and his opposite arm is beneath her bottom, holding her up.

"Oh Jay she is just a darling, I mean look at her," Aly gushes, toying with the little girl's free hand, "She looks just like her mama."

He looks down at the baby in his arms, "You think? I think she looks a little like me."

"She has your eyes," Aly responds, looking back and forth between the father and daughter, "but she has Erin's dimples, beauty mark, lips and nose. I think she has your ears though." He accepts her explanation; many people seem to agree because most, if not everyone, they've run into had said the same thing. Jay nods for her to follow him towards the couch and once she takes a seat, he places the baby onto her lap.

Haven has not yet reached the age where she experiences stranger anxiety. So far she remains to be comfortable being held by new faces. Aly lifts the toy beside her and uses it to toy with the baby. Haven drops the teething ring from her hand in order to direct her attention on the toy being dangled in front of her. With her back leant against Aly's chest, one hand goes into her mouth while the other scratches against the bright red, yellow and green toy being held in Aly's hand. Her attention is torn away from the toy being held by Aly when her dad lifts up another toy and extends it towards her. She reaches out for it, but her arms are too short. Aly readjusts her hold on the baby to ensure Haven didn't fall in her attempt to stretch her hands out for the toys in her and Jay's hands, "So," she clears her throat after taking a quick glance over her shoulder, making sure that Erin was not in ear shot, "my mom filled me in. Erin was attacked last year?"

He nods, eyes glancing down to the baby in Aly's arms, "It was a serial killer –a cop, and he was one of us. He used that trust and that badge to weasel himself into our unit and I almost lost my wife and my baby because of it."

"Jay, I'm sorry."

"Tyler is locked up and he's not going anywhere," Jay assured, shaking the colorful toy in front of his daughter; she reached out and tried to grab it, but her little hand couldn't take a grip of it, "We're just trying to put that year behind us, so let's talk about something else. Since you moved to Arizona, I haven't seen you in…years! What have you been doing?"

She chuckles and extends her hand, flashing the diamond ring, "I'm engaged."

"Who's the lucky guy?"

"Megan."

His brows furrow, "That's a weird name for a guy."

"That's because she isn't a guy," Aly chuckles, holding the baby while using her free hand to dig into her pocket, retrieving her cell, "I met her at work. We've been dating for almost two years."

"Congratulations Ally," he cheers, standing up after she does, "I expect an invite."

"Of course," she nods eagerly, "you and your plus one," her eyes briefly flash down at her cell and she sighs when she reads the time on the screen, "I should be going."

"Your visit was so short."

Aly hands the baby back to Jay, "I only stopped by on the way to the airport. My parents kept asking me did I pay you a visit, so I figured since you were on the way, I might as well stop."

"Well you don't be a stranger. Visit more often."

"Yes sir," she salutes.

Halstead maneuvers the baby onto his hip as he follows his oldest friend to the front door. She gives Erin a wave and vows to get to know her better, see the fire in her that stole Jay's heart. Jay opens the door and Aly hugs her friend one last time, patting the baby on her small hand as a farewell gesture before leaving. By the time Jay is back in the living room, his wife is spreading out the baby's blanket on the floor in front of the couch while the aroma of the cooking food becomes stronger, more appetizing. Jay glances up at the score on the screen and shakes his head; first Danny's team lost and now it looks like his team will be doing the same, however there is still plenty of time and opportunity for the Cubs to catch up. As he lays the baby down onto her tummy –for her daily tummy time- his eyes focus on the television, "What? Are you serious? Babe…did you see that play?"

Erin snickers, shaking her head, "I was more focused on the fact that she just rolled from her tummy onto her back."

"My baby working those muscles," he asserted, rolling her back onto her stomach, "Ha! Look at her go!" He laughs as she rolls from her stomach onto her back once again. Scooping her up right afterwards, he takes another seat on the couch, "There is no way I can focus on the game while watching her," he places her onto his knee as he tunes back in to the baseball game. She's leant against his chest and her hands begin toying with her bare feet; the socks she removed earlier haven't been placed back onto her feet since she'll only pull them off again. Haven pulls her hands away from her toes and inserts a few of her fingers back into her mouth, "Come on man!" Jay shouts out, completely frustrated and annoyed, "What is this?! You can't be serious right now! Did they even come to play?! That play he just made was-"

And even though he's still angered and wanting to continue his rant and shout at the television, he hears the most innocent, heart-warming laugh imaginable. It's coming from the four month old sitting on his lap. She's looking at him, laughing loudly, heartily and enthusiastically. His expression watches her with wide-eyes. And when Erin curiously walks into the living room after hearing the laugh, she stands and watches in shock, however the baby's laugh stops by the time she's in the living room. Halstead averts his eyes from the baby to his wife, "Did you hear that? Please tell me you heard that."

"I did," she nods eagerly; tossing the dish rag over her shoulder as she approaches, "Do whatever you did again!" This time, instead of looking up at the television as he rants, he's watching his daughter, "What kind of play was that? My nephew made a better run for first base than the professional did! It's ridiculous! Did they even train during off-season?! I mean, how could-" and that's when the laughter starts once more. It was this simple act that gave her the greatest pleasure and provided her parents with the absolute joy in hearing her laugh. The sound of her laugh was good for the soul. It's a melody to their ears; a tune they didn't mind hearing on repeat. She's giggling, laughing loudly with her mouth wide open and dimples piercing into her cheeks. When it starts to sound like her laugh is dwindling down, Jay starts ranting and raving about the game again; it sparks another burst, a round of chuckles that causes for her hands to fly up and down.

Erin recorded the whole thing –sending it out to the team and Annie the second the video ends. It doesn't take long for her cell to start ringing, a video chat call from Burgess coming through and she excitedly answers. The choppy image of her best friend appears and she waits for the signal to completely connect before she starts talking, "Hey!"

"Oh my gosh," Kim's face is all the way in the camera; she's up extremely close, "I want to see it live! Show me."

Lindsay turns the camera around, "Do it again Jay."

"If we lose this game it's obviously because they keep putting him in the in-field! They need to just bench him; let him practice a little more! It's ridiculous! You would think he has never played a game of baseball in his life!" And that's all that was needed as the baby starts chuckling again. Burgess sighs and appreciates the view, even going above and beyond to run her cell to Adam so he's able to watch. Kim begins laughing along with the four month old, "Next time I see her, it's going to be my mission to make her laugh. That is just so awesome!"

"I'll see you at work tomorrow," Lindsay says, turning her camera to face her, "I need to go check on dinner." As Erin disappears back into the kitchen, Jay tunes into the game, realizing that while he was so busy making the baby laugh, the Cubs had caught up. The game was tied and would be ending soon. With his eyes glued to the television screen, he hands the baby back her teething ring and she resumes gnawing upon it.

By the time the soup is done, the game is officially over –the Cubs won. Jay is happy, holding up his daughter's hand and high-fiving her. The chicken noodle soup is complete, Erin tried a sip and it tastes divine. All just seems so right in the world. With his forearm wrapped around the baby's stomach, flushing her back against his chest, Jay heads over to the table. He takes a seat as Erin sets a bowl down in front of him, "Today seems to be a great day; we got to see Danny, Aly came for a visit, we heard Haven's first genuine laugh, you made your tasty homemade chicken noodle soup and the Cubs won!"

Erin sets her bowl down and takes a sip, "The only thing that could have made this day better was if Danny's team won."

"…then it would have been perfect," he sighs, blowing the soup on the spoon before taking a bite. With the baby on his lap –now more active than she's been in all her months- she attempts to reach for different things on the table. First the salt, then the pepper, then his napkin and once Erin moves all of that out of her reach, she tries to reach for his spoon. She wants anything her little hands can touch.

"She's trying to get into everything," Erin laughs.

Jay nods in agreement, "Just wait until she starts walking and simply moving something out of her reach won't work anymore." The two take another yummy bite as they watch their daughter stare at them. Haven wants the spoon in her dad's hand; it's the simplest of things that she wants –a spoon, an empty box, while her toys remain scattered around in different places. He takes another bite and looks down at his daughter as he chews, "I want to try something."

When he rises from his seat, Erin skeptically watches him. She sets her spoon down when he unexpectedly hands her the baby. She observes him as he goes to wash his hands at the kitchen sink, dry them on a paper towel and then walks back over to kneel down in front of her and the baby. One lone brow rises in curiosity on Erin's face as she questions, "What are you doing?" He doesn't answer; she watches him dab his finger in his bowl of soup before bringing it to the baby's mouth, giving her a taste, "The doctor didn't say we can start her on table food. She doesn't even have any teeth," Erin angles her head to take a peek at the baby's reaction.

"I didn't give her any actual food to chew. It's just the liquid. I wanted to give her a taste."

She can only see the side profile of Haven's face, "How does she like it?"

"Her face is curious. She's so used to the taste of milk that she's trying to understand what the heck she tastes now," Jay scoops the baby from his wife's arms, sets her down on his lap and dabs his finger to give her another taste. This time Erin gets a better angle to look at. And after the second taste of the soup's broth, Haven starts kicking her legs; it's yummy. It appeases the other growing taste buds on her tongue.

"Alright, that's enough," Erin informs, standing to go to the refrigerator, "Let's stick to the bottles of milk until we get a thumbs up from the doctor. And she needs to start sprouting teeth," she grabs a bottle and takes it over to the microwave.

"I feel two teeth babe," Jay announces, carefully feeling around her gums, "They're slowly but surely coming through."

Erin rinses her hand and rushes over, "Let me feel," she runs her finger smoothly over her bottom gums, "Aw my baby about to be flashing us a two-teeth smile," she withdraws her hands and retreats to the microwave once it starts beeping. As Erin distractedly checks the temperature of the milk by dripping a few drops onto the back of her hand, Jay absentmindedly gazes off and watches her. He doesn't see Haven reach out clumsily for the spoon in his soup bowl and when her hand wraps around the handle of the spoon and withdraws it, splashing a few contents of his remaining soup onto his lap, he looks down, noticing as she struggles to put the spoon in her mouth and gnaw on it. He slides it from her hand, "Thank you," he looks up at his wife, "this little girl will put anything and everything in her mouth."

"That's all babies," she responds, handing her husband the bottle, "yesterday though, during tummy time there was a penny on the floor and I took it from her right as she was about to pop that thing in her mouth."

Jay multitasks; he positions the baby on his lap, her back leant against his chest and one of his hands balance the bottle as she drinks up her dinner while his other hand spoons soup into his mouth, finishing up the remainder of his own food. As the baby drinks her bottle, Erin notices her eyes flutter open and close, fighting against the daily foe –sleep. Lindsay grabs a few crackers to dip into her soup, "So, Aly…"

"What are you getting at?" He squints suspiciously.

"I kind of, sort of, officially met her."

"I'm an idiot," he slaps his free hand against his forehead, "I'm rude. I didn't introduce you two."

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure you'll have another opportunity. And we're adults," she reminded, handing him the crackers, "We introduced ourselves."

"What did you think of her?"

"We didn't get a chance to talk much. I did hear her compliment my baby though."

Jay grins, "Yeah, she called her gorgeous and pretty."

"And she said she looks like her mother; that's the absolute sweetest compliment."

He finishes the last spoonful of his soup, "Don't let it get to your head. Depending on who you ask, who she resembles varies."

"If you're talking about Jennifer then you should know she only said that to spite me; it isn't true," she shrugs, standing to gather their empty bowls, "More people have said Haven looks like me than you. I hate to say it babe," she walks over to the sink, "but the kid looks like me."

"I'll take care of the dishes and putting the food up since you cooked."

"My domesticated husband," she sighs, covering her heart jokingly, "I'll put the baby down to sleep and then take a shower. It's already pushing on ten."

Swapping the baby for the dishes, Jay approaches the sink. His wife disappears upstairs, humming softly into her daughter's ear as Haven continues losing the battle against the unfair power of sleep. As he cleans the dishes in the sink, he hears the shower water turn on; he dries them afterwards and puts them away. He wipes down the table, tosses the rag onto the counter and turns off the lights. After turning off the television and the light in the living room, he slowly makes his way up the stairs. His wife has the bedroom television on; she's standing in the center of the room watching it as she dries her hair. Dressed in his navy blue t-shirt, it fell loosely to the top of her thighs and he crossed the room to stand behind her, wrapping his large arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder, "Where's the baby?"

"On the bed," she whispers, eyes remained drawn to the television, "They're talking about Tyler, especially since his trial is coming up."

Glancing over his shoulder to peek at the baby sleeping on her back in the center of their bed, surrounded by pillows just in case she rolled over in her sleep and he turns back to his wife, pressing his lips against her cheek, trying to distract her from the news report, discussing the intricate and serious details of his case, "I'm going to take a shower. You should find a movie for us to watch. I don't feel like watching any of that garbage."

Lindsay nods as her husband pulls away, "I'll see what else is on TV," she continues using a towel to dry her dripping wet hair, "They weren't saying much anyway. They offered him a plea deal, one he didn't deserve, but fortunately he didn't take it. He's actually going to try and fight the case, plead innocent as if I'm not going to take that witness stand and call him out on what he tried to do to me and my baby! If Tyler thinks he's walking out a free man, he has another thing coming, I swear."

Jay didn't respond; he simply leaned forward and gave her another kiss on the cheek, immediately calming her down. Closure will eventually come. She continues her sessions with Dr. Charles and once Tyler is sentenced and locked away for good, closure and justice will officially be served. As Lindsay crawls into bed and gets comfortable, she hears the shower water cut on. She lifts the remote and starts flipping through channels, already knowing that nothing is on at this time of night, but in order to appease Jay and clear her mind of the trial, she searches anyway. She searches so long and so intently that she doesn't even notice Jay walking out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist, covering the lower portion of his body. She takes a quick look, averting her eyes from the television and over to him as he searches through the dresser for a pair of boxers, "If you keep looking at me like that, we're going to have to put her in the nursery," he whispers, sensing her eyes staring into his back.

Erin crawls out of bed, "Let's put her in the nursery then."

In seconds she's out of the bed, moments after that she's carefully scooping the baby up in her arms, being careful not to wake her and then minutes after that she's carrying her out of the room and into her barely used nursery. Haven still sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night and it's easier for her parents to appease to her wants and needs when she's right beside them instead of down the hall. Arriving to her baby girl's nursery, Lindsay leaves off the light and uses the nightlight to guide her into the room; she slowly lowers the baby onto her back and situates her comfortably in the center of her crib. After pulling up the thin blanket and covering her opened legs and arms that are spread out above her head, Erin presses a kiss to her daughter's forehead, lingers her lips against her skin until she hears a breath to calm her motherly worries. Sometimes they found themselves continually checking on her breathing when she's asleep because she sleeps so quietly and soundlessly. Erin grabs the baby monitor from the corner of the nursery and holds it as she leaves the room, cracking the door behind her as she leaves.

Her maroon painted toes softly press against the carpet in her walk down the hallway to the master bedroom. The baby monitor is gripped in her hand as she approaches the threshold of her bedroom door and when she arrives she finds her husband no longer standing with a towel tied around his waist. Now he's standing in the center of the room, towel crumbled up at his feet and grinning flirtatiously at her. She sets the baby monitor down onto the dresser beside her and without wasting anymore time, she crosses the room and practically grabs her husband's face to pull him towards her, kissing him and holding his face in her hands as she rises to the tip of her toes. Without separating his lips from hers, he lifts her up and her legs wrap around his waist as he continues to kiss her hard. He carried her over to the dresser and sets her down upon it and while he remains standing between her legs, his hands wrap around his shirt that is covering her body and they briefly separate so he's able to pull it up over her head. Dressed in only a pair of underwear, she sits before him, vulnerable and waiting for his lips to make contact with hers once again.

Jay stares at her; he takes a moment and really looks at her. Her hair is tumbled and wild over her shoulders from his hand running through it. Halstead groaned, staring as she licks her lips and bashfully smiles at him as if she's even capable of being shy. She bites down onto her bottom lip, and gives him a sideways smile, revealing light dimples in her cheek, "What are you waiting-" and she doesn't get a chance to finish as Jay grabbed the back of her head and sealed his lips against hers, answering her question without any words involved. Her cell phone rings in the background and neither of them separate nor pay any attention to it. No indication from them that either of them even heard the ring. And it eventually rings until it goes to voicemail. And seconds later her voicemail notification dings, signaling someone left a message for her to check later. They carry on; she gasps when he begins trailing kisses down her jawline and along her neck. Erin breaths out, "I love you so much."

He draws back, taking her in once again, "I love you too…more than words can explain." She suddenly pulls his head down for a kiss, one that is hard, desperate and hungry and he pulls her towards the edge of the dresser. Their kissing isn't sensual or passionate; it's full of lust and longing. It's not slow or delicate, but rough and aggressive. His hands trail up her arms, flushing her body up against his; his hands continue its path up to her hair, tangling his fingers in the damp strands of it. He feels her teeth bite down upon his bottom lip and if it's possible, he presses his body against hers even more, until her cell phone rings once again. They ignore it again, allowing it to ring and ring until it goes to voicemail. And when they both finally assume that whoever has called has finally received the hint, they call again. She's frustrated. She just wants a moment alone –a moment of peace- with her husband. Between work and being parents, they rarely had time to just focus on their relationship. Yes, they've gotten back into their sex life but it's normally slow and sensual when they're making love. Now, it's sex, strictly sex, just to let loose and clear their minds. Against her wishes she draws back and looks at her phone beside her on the dresser, "It's Annie," her head falls forward and rests on his shoulder.

"Answer it," he tells her, but she hesitates anyway. She doesn't want to answer it. She wants to finish what they started. With her red, plump from kissing lips, she pouts, "I'll call her back."

"I'm not going anywhere," he replies, grabbing his boxers and pulling them on, "Answer it."

"Are you sure?" She asks, her phone continually ringing, "I can let it go to voicemail."

"She'll only call back. And she normally doesn't call back to back unless it's important."

She nods and picks up her phone, "You're right," she answers and puts the device to her ear, "Hey Annie. What's up?"

"Erin," her friend's voice wavers; it sounds broken and fragile. It's filled with sadness and it sounds as if Annie is on the verge of crying. She hears her sniffing and taking deep breaths, struggling to calm herself down. And second by second her walls slowly fell and Erin hears her sobbing on the other end of the phone.

Lindsay hops down from the dresser, "Annie, what's wrong?" She balances the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she grabs a bra out of the dresser, "What happened?" This perks up Jay's attention as he continues to get dressed while listening to his wife's end of the conversation as she hooks her bra around her chest.

"I'm outside your house. Can you come get the door?"

She glances at the time, "It's almost midnight. I have work at eight in the morning."

"Please. It's an emergency."

She grabs her discarded shirt and pulls it over her head, "Here I come," the shirt falls to her upper thigh and she reaches into the dresser to grab a pair of loose fitting shorts, "Annie is at the door. She wants to talk to me. She probably had a fight with Todd or something."

"Send her away," he simply states, tying the drawstring of his sweatpants.

"You know I can't do that."

He sighs disappointedly, "I guess I'll finish getting dressed then."

Erin grabs his upper arm and pulls him towards her before placing a kiss against his lips, sighing within his touch and peppering another kiss against the corner of his mouth before pulling away. She backs out of the room, watching him crawl into bed and grab his phone to entertain himself until his wife returns. As she walks down the stairs of her house, she finds herself on cloud nine; she wants to help Annie with whatever problem plagued her at the moment and then she wants to return to her husband and get some sleep, especially since she has to be up in the morning to go to work. Erin walked to the door and unlocked the bottom latch before swinging it open, becoming face-to-face with her childhood best friend, the woman standing before her with tears running down her bruised and battered face, "Annie…" Lindsay felt a shortness of breath; her eyes focus in on a drop of blood running down her lip, "What…what happened to you?" She gathers her voice and pulls Annie inside her house, shutting and locking the door after she enters, "What…what happened to your face?!"

"It's uh…it's a long story," Annie whispers, eyes cast downward to avoid eye contact, "I just need a place to stay tonight. I needed to get away. Can I crash here?"

Erin doesn't answer; she barely registers what Annie said. She's too focused in on the silent tears, the dried blood and the dark bruises upon Annie's face, "JAY, get down here! PLEASE! NOW!"

They hear his feet running along the carpet upstairs; he jumped up at the sound of his wife's voice. He doesn't bother to grab a t-shirt, he simply runs out of his bedroom and down the stairs, holding the baby monitor and only coming to an abrupt stop when he sees her, when he sees the state Annie arrived in. He can tell she has been crying; her eyes were welled up with a despondent look that begged for help. It aged her; the bruised welts on her wrists turned dark purple with each passing second –they look painful and the appearance of them will only worsen in the coming days. The making of a darker and disgusting bruise started to appear around her left eye, it was swelling up and by tomorrow morning, it'll be swollen shut. Annie sees their eyes taking in every injury visible by the naked eye; she doesn't speak or say anything, she silently grabs the collar of her turtle neck and pulls it downward, revealing a dark bruise lining her skin. With the back of her hand, she wipes the dried blood off her lip, preparing to speak but Jay's voice sounds before hers can, "Annie, what happened?"

"I was an idiot," she admits, unsteadily walking further into the house; they follow behind her.

"Annie," Erin says through gritted teeth, gently grabbing her friend's shoulders, forcing her to make eye contact, "who did that to your face?"

"You're going to be mad."

"I'm way past being mad! Did Todd do that?"

"Todd?"

Erin glances over her shoulder to answer her husband's question, "Her boyfriend."

"No," Annie quickly answers, pushing Erin's hands off her shoulders, "he would never hurt me."

"Then who?" And suddenly it clicks; Erin takes a step back, wrapping her arms around her lower waist, "Wait," she shakes her head in disbelief, "Did Charlie do that?"

Annie doesn't speak. She doesn't give a verbal answer, but her silence tells Erin everything she needs to know. She's pissed, undeniably angry and enraged. Jay remains speechless behind his wife. He quietly sets the baby monitor down onto the table beside him, trying to find the words to respond. It's no secret that Jay absolutely hates Charlie; he'll never forget the stories Erin told him about her childhood, involving him. He feels bad for Annie, having a child with a man that she hates almost as much as Erin does. However, Travis is an adult now. She doesn't have to communicate with Charlie anymore; if she doesn't want him in her life, he shouldn't be. And while Jay stands, lost in his thoughts, he doesn't realize that Erin disappeared upstairs until she's storming down the stairs, zipping up her jacket, "Jay," he looks over at her as she searches her purse for her keys, "watch the baby and Annie stay here. I'll be back."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Jay crosses the room, approaching his wife.

"I'm going to find him and beat the shit out of him Jay," she answers calmly, saving all of her anger for Charlie, "I'll show him what it's like to be beaten."

He grabs her arm, "You're not leaving!"

"I sure as hell am!" She snatches her wrist out of his grip.

"And when he hits you, then what?"

"I'll hit him back!"

"He's bigger than you, taller than you and two times your size!"

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," she quips.

"You're staying here because if he puts his hands on you then I'll have to get involved!"

"We're already involved Jay! He hit Annie!" Erin shouts, pointing over at her best friend who is now seated at the dining room table, "Look at her face, her neck, and her wrists! He hit her!"

"And he'll get what's coming to him because Annie will press charges, right?" Jay looks over his shoulder, watching Annie continue to refuse eye contact.

"It was a big argument," she whispers, her hands fumbling in her lap, "I said some things that I shouldn't have. Let's leave it alone."

Erin drops her keys back inside her purse, and slowly, angrily approaches her friend, "Please don't tell me you're about to make excuses for him."

"I hurt his feelings!"

"For fucks sake Annie, do you think that gave him a right to hit you?!" Erin yells, unintentionally releasing the built up anger on her, "Go take a look at your face in the mirror."

"I don't want to."

Jay walks into the nearby bathroom in search of the first aid kit, "I can call the police. I can have them here as soon as possible. We can even keep it under wraps." he calls out.

"I don't want you to."

"Please Annie," Erin finds herself pleading, removing her jacket and draping it over the chair.

"He's Travis' father and they're starting to reconnect. I can't do that to Travis."

"Travis wouldn't want to see you like this!"

"Erin, what would you do? Put yourself in my shoes! Let's just drop it!"

"Charlie is an adult. Travis is an adult. He's old enough to understand and I'm pretty sure if he knew that his dad did that to your face, he would understand."

"You don't understand!" Annie jumps up to her feet, pointing her finger and waving it around in Lindsay's face, "You just don't understand! You don't! That's my kid's father! He already has daddy issues; I don't want to contribute to that! So because you don't understand, I would appreciate it if you save your advice."

Erin nods, crossing her arms over her chest, "Then why did you come to me? Why come to my house? What do you want?"

"I want to spend the night. I don't want to go home," Annie's voice breaks.

"You know you can spend the night."

"Thank you."

Erin sighs, wanting to drop it but finding it absolutely too difficult to do so, she speaks up, "I'm your friend. I just want to help."

"And I appreciate that, but I don't need it. Just give it a rest," Annie asserts, sighing in relief when Jay reappears holding up the first aid kit, "Thanks Jay," he stoops down in front of her after she sits and starts cleaning off her face.

"Annie, if my kid were in this situation," Erin attempts again to get through to her friend, "I would want her friend to try her hardest to help my baby out in every sense of the word. I can't just sit back and do nothing! I'm sorry…I can't. So yes, you can stay here tonight, yes, we'll clean your face up, but no, I won't drop it, no, I won't leave it alone and no, I can't just give it a rest. I've never been that type of person! You of all people should know that! And Annie, when will enough be enough? Let me and Jay help you! If this was our kid-"

"Erin, the difference is I'm not your fucking kid, I'm not Haven!"

She instinctively gets defensive, "I sure as hell know that because I wouldn't be having this conversation with her! He would be in jail having charges pressed against him as we speak!"

"He's my son's father!"

"And that doesn't give him any right or privilege to hit you!"

This argument wasn't over; it would have continued even longer if the baby's cries didn't blare out through the baby monitor. She grabs the baby monitor and clenches it in her hand, before slamming it down onto the dining room table and storming away, "You stopped me this time Jay," she shouts, stomping up the staircase, "but I swear nothing pisses me off more than an abusive relationship!"

He closes the first aid kit, "I agree. I just don't want you getting hurt or put in the middle of this!" Halstead temporarily leaves Annie's side to retrieve a bag of frozen vegetables out of the freezer for her to hold it up to her eye. While she holds the cold bag of broccoli against her eye, she watches him take a seat, avoiding eye contact and waiting for his wife to rejoin them. Annie dramatically breathes out and sets the bag of frozen vegetables down, "I know you want to say something," she readjusts the frozen bag against her eye, "You've hated Charlie this whole time. You almost didn't even hire me because of him."

"What's the point of saying something if you're not going to listen? Why waste my breath?"

"Erin is just…going overboard."

"Can you blame her?" He interrupts irritatingly, "Look at it from our end. You show up at our house late at night with your face bruised and bloodied. Charlie did that; the guy who made you and Erin's life miserable growing up did that. And you're upset with her for caring about you, for trying to help you out," he leans forward, staring into her saddened eyes, "Erin doesn't get that mad, that upset about many things. If she does, then that's how you know she really cares. You're mad at the wrong person."

Struggling to remain at ease and calm, Erin carefully lifts the crying baby from her crib. She supports Haven's head with one hand and her bottom with the other, "Hi baby," Erin coos, bringing the baby up to her chest, resting Haven's head above her pounding heartbeat. The second she's in her mother's arms, she immediately relaxes and her crying stops. Haven carefully lifts her hand and raises it to rest upon her mother's mouth and Erin jokingly gnaws upon it, sparking a hardy chuckle from her daughter. The laugh takes away the simmering anger in Erin's chest; it clears her mind of the argument brewing downstairs. Erin gnaws upon the baby's hand again and she chuckles even harder. You wouldn't even think the baby had been asleep minutes ago due to how hard the little girl is laughing. She hears their voices grow louder downstairs, reminding Erin of the serious matter at hand. Erin turns the alert baby around in her arms, resting the infant's back against her torso and ensuring her head is supported by her chest. One arm is under her bottom, the other is across her stomach and she steps out into the well-lit hallway, chuckling lightly at her daughter's disheveled appearance.

Even with the innocent smile on her face, Haven still looks like she had just woken up. What few short strands of dirty blonde hair she has is wild and tossed above her head. The baby yawns and the innocent smile finds its way back onto her face –it's natural. She's such a happy baby regardless of whether or not she had enough sleep. As her mom carefully walks barefoot down the stairs, her curious eyes take in her surroundings. She hears Jay and Annie's voices increase in volume as their disagreement continues to spew loudly, "Hey," Erin interrupts, stepping off the last stair, "baby in the room; let's tone down the vocals a bit."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you or wake her up," Annie whispers, ashamedly, "I just want to do what's right for Travis, is that so wrong? I know you're trying to help and I love you for it. I want nothing to do with Charlie, but when I put my foot down and tried to kick him out, he did this. It's just easier to go along with what he wants."

"…even if it makes you unhappy?"

Annie nods to answer Erin's question, "As a parent, our children's happiness should come before our own. It's one of the many sacrifices we make as parents."

"And you know I agree with you," Erin replies, walking further into the kitchen, allowing Jay to take the baby as she turns to face her friend, "but not when it comes to this. Your child's wellbeing should come before your own, yes, but not at the expense of your safety and your health. And Annie, you keep forgetting Travis is an adult, he just turned 19. He can handle it. Give him some type of credit. I understand –or at least can try to understand- protecting your child when they're Haven's age or under a certain age, but it comes to a certain point in time where you need to do what's right for you, not Travis. He'll be fine either way."

When Annie opens her mouth to rebut, argue and respond, a hard knock on the front door interrupts her, it silences her and makes her forget everything she was about to say. The panicked expression on Annie's face tells them who is at the door and storming out of the kitchen, leaving Annie and Jay behind, she rushes to the door and swings it open, "You have a lot of nerve showing up here! How did you even find out where I live? How did you know Annie would be here? Did you follow her?"

"That's not important," Charlie calmly whispers; he smells of cigarette smoke and alcohol and he aged for the worse, looking much older than the last time Erin saw him, "I'm here for Annie."

"You're joking, right?"

He notices Annie and Jay approach, but he pays no mind to anyone but Annie; he smiles at her, his eyes feeling bad for what he did. He wants to say something to her, apologize or hug her or something, but Lindsay remains standing in his way, preventing him from entering, "Erin, I don't want you involved. I'm warning you to stay out of it."

"Or what?"

For a split second he pulls his eyes away from Annie in order to rest them upon the sleeping baby in Jay's arms. Her head was rested in the crook of his neck and his large hand rubs continuous and soothing circles in her back. Charlie smiles before averting his eyes back to Lindsay, "Cute kid. When did you have her?"

She smiles, it's dark and a bit threatening, "Charlie, you really don't want to go there."

"Go where? I didn't say anything to imply that. I simply just complimented your daughter," he mockingly retorts, angling his head to get a better look at her.

"What happened to bettering yourself? What happened to being a father your kid could look up to? What happened to changing your ways?"

"I have changed my ways," he argued.

"If that's even remotely true," she asserted, grabbing Annie and pulling her forward, "then why the fuck did you do that to her face?!"

Jay steps in, noticing the look painted on Charlie's face. He uses his free hand to pull Annie away from the door, quickly hands her the baby, completely unmindful of the sleeping infant. She stirs and Annie steps away from the door to rock her back to sleep. Jay pulls his wife away from the door next before taking over her position, "Alright, get out of here."

"What? It's your turn now?"

Halstead stressfully pinches the bridge of his nose, "It's too late to be doing all of this. Come on, guy to guy, man to boy, let's not do this today."

"I just want to talk Annie; I love her. Don't you understand? If the situation was reversed, wouldn't you want to talk to Erin?"

"The situation would never be reversed, you see because," he pushes Charlie away from his front door, "I wouldn't hit her. I wouldn't hurt her. How fucking blind are you to not see the damage you've done? Get out of here," he shoves Charlie back again, "Get the fuck out of here and don't talk to her, don't look at her, and don't come anywhere near her. If you do-"

Charlie smugly interrupts, "What are you going to do?"

"You don't even want to know."

And Charlie doesn't test him further; he simply backs away and shouts out, "Annie call me!" He smirks and winks at the girls as he turns and walks away. The door is slammed shut and locked behind him and Jay angrily kicks it before turning to face the girls, "If he comes back, let me know," he watches Annie walk away, calming down the woken baby; he waits for Annie to disappear out of the front room, and tugs his wife over, "I don't think it's a good idea for Annie to watch Haven anymore, at least for right now."

"That's pretty sudden; do you have a backup option? We have work tomorrow morning."

"Lexi offered to watch her again," he whispers, "She can use the extra money since she got demoted. We can hire her until we find someone more permanent."

Lindsay worriedly responds, "How am I supposed to fire my friend? How am I supposed to do that after today?"

"You don't have to; I quit," Annie announces, revealing herself under the threshold of the kitchen. Her presence was made known and her eyes avoid contact as Jay walks over to take the sleeping baby from her arms.

Erin approaches, looping her arm through Annie's and leading her upstairs, "Are you sure?"

"Don't think I didn't appreciate the job," she positively asserts, walking into the master bedroom alongside her friend, "If I had the option I wouldn't, but your little girl comes first for you…and as a mother, I understand that. It's what's best."

Annie's arm is released as Erin walks over to give her friend a pair of her unused pajamas. Most of the things Erin wears to bed belong to her husband so the pajamas she actually does own haven't been used or haven't been used as often. She follows Annie out of the room, maneuvers past her husband as he brings the baby into the master bedroom and trails behind Annie to the guest room. She feels bad for kind of, partially firing her closest friend, but it needed to be done. And by the look on Annie's face, she starts to feel even worse, "You know," Erin speaks up to earn Annie's attention, "That doesn't mean you can't come see her whenever you want. Just because you're no longer her babysitter doesn't mean you're no longer my friend."

"I know."

"And it's temporary, just until the whole Charlie problem is solved."

She lays the pajamas out on the bed, "Well I can help with that. I'm going to go to the station and press charges against him in the morning." And suddenly Erin's arms swallow her into a hug. She holds on tight and presses a kiss against the side of her friend's head, being mindful of the bruises appearing alongside Annie's face. She hears Annie sniffle, suppressing her tears and she whispers into Erin's ear, "Thank you…thank you for being you and always calling me out on my bullshit. You're an amazing friend."

"That's what friends are for."

Erin pulls out of the hug and momentarily rests her hand against Annie's shoulder. She has work in the morning and it's quickly approaching two in the a.m. Leaving her friend in the guest room, she closes the door behind her. Lindsay wipes her eyes, hits the hallway light and heads towards her bedroom. After closing the master bedroom door behind her, she shimmies out of the pants and crawls into bed, being careful to not wake her sleeping daughter. Jay is already lying down in the dark bedroom while the baby silently sleeps between the two. Erin lays down and snuggles into her pillow; her hand reaches out and gently caresses the few strands of hair atop her baby's head, "Jay…" she whispers.

He groggily answers, "Hmm."

"What would you do?"

Jay rolls over onto his side to face her, "What do you mean?"

"If that was Haven; what would you do?"

He takes a moment to think because in all honesty he wouldn't know what he'll do, especially out of anger. He doesn't know how his rage will make him act or what actions will result from him seeing red. Jay sits up in bed, thinking much harder for an answer before deciding to stick with the truth. He glances at his wife's silhouette in the dark room and replies, "I honestly don't know. I'm actually afraid of what I may do. I was pretty pissed at Charlie for hurting Annie and she's your friend…to think of someone doing that to her, my daughter, I can't wrap my mind around it. I can't formulate a clear and rational thought process to be able to without a doubt answer by saying arrest him or press charges. I can't do that. I can't say that. If I do, I would be lying. I wouldn't give him the easy way out by throwing handcuffs around his wrists and bringing him in, I'll probably beat his ass…might even kill him."

"And I wouldn't even stop you," she remarks, cuddling up to her daughter's side, laying on the right as Jay cuddles up to the left of Haven, "There's so much evil in the world. There are bad people with bad intentions everywhere. I just want her to stay this age and this size for as long as possible. We may not be able to protect her forever, but it doesn't mean we can't try."

"I've never been angry enough to hit a woman. We've had some pretty big arguments, but I never, not once, thought I could hit you."

"And that's one of the many reasons why you're nothing like Charlie."

"He was so smug about it too!"

"Fortunately," Erin asserts, closing her eyes and curling into her pillow, "Annie has decided to go forward with pressing charges. We'll take pictures as evidence and then write up a formal statement. Our best way of keeping Charlie away from her and prevent him from hurting anyone else in the future is through the law."

He rolls over onto his side and rests his hand upon her hip, being careful not to disturb the baby, "We won't have to worry about something like this happening to Haven because we're going to give her so much love, confidence, support, protection and guidance that a coward would think twice about hurting her. She has two cops as parents and Voight as a grandfather," he whispers, "and not to mention, the rest of her village is full of cops and sergeants, she's covered. She's definitely covered," Jay murmurs again but hears no response from his wife. He takes a look at her to find her peacefully asleep, breathing even and composed; his words relaxed her enough to doze off. And he decides to follow after her, thinking of his own words, finding enough comfort in them to fall asleep as well.


	5. Five Months

As Erin walks through the entrance of the jail, she waves at some of the familiar faces. Dr. Charles is at her side, guiding her along the way as they approach the front desk. Her hand hovers over the badge hung on a chain around her neck and when Dr. Charles gives her an encouraging nod, she lifts it up so the correctional officer is able to write down her badge number. There's a hard expression on the officer's face; one that seemed to have been planted permanently across his features. He turns the clipboard around and slams a pen down onto it, "Sign in. Date it too. Who are you here to see?"

"Tyler West," Dr. Charles answers for her; she's distracted, staring up at the clock on the wall in order to date the time she arrived before jotting her married name down onto the visitors' log. She slides the clipboard back towards him as the guard lifts up the desk phone, to place a call to request for Tyler to be brought into the visitors' room. It gives Erin an opportunity to collect her breath. She honestly doesn't think she has taken a breath since walking inside. Lindsay wants to pace, she wants to hyperventilate, but her body is frozen. It only unfreezes when the psychiatrist places his hands against her shoulders, "I'm not going back there with you. Are you positive that you're up for this? I don't want to force you to do something you aren't ready for."

"It's now or never right," Erin replies, lifting the visitor's pass once it's slid towards her. She clips it onto her shirt and turns to face the guard who recently approached her, waiting patiently to escort her back to the visitors' room. She brushes her hands along her jeans, "It's now or never," she whispers to herself before following behind the correctional officer.

"I'll be waiting for you out here," Dr. Charles called out in assurance.

This had been planned for days. During her lunch break, she was supposed to go with Dr. Charles to visit Tyler. In order for her to get an ounce of closure, she needed to see him. So bidding her team a see you later, she hopped in Dr. Charles' car when he came to pick her up…and now she's here, seconds away from seeing the man who tried to take her life and her baby. She walks through a metal detector. She took everything out of her pockets and left her belongings with Dr. Charles before continuing with the officer. He scanned his badge, granting them access into the next room –an elongated hallway, with a flickering light overhead. It's something out of a horror movie. With each step she takes, the light flickers, occasionally basking them in darkness to match the anxieties accumulating in her body. The last time she was in this jail was when she paid Gregory Bishop a visit last year; now she's walking along the cement ground to see Tyler West –a former detective, a current monster and serial killer.

The guard scans his badge a second time, granting them access to another corridor. And when he pushes the door open to allow her entrance, she notices it's just another long hallway, "He's in a separate segment of the jail. He started a few fights so we had to put him in solitary. You won't be in contact; he's considered too dangerous. You both will be behind a glass, looking at each other but communicating through a telephone," she nods; she knows the routine. As a detective, this isn't her first time visiting an inmate who is behind bars; she has experienced the varying types of visiting rooms. And eventually, with all of the talking from the officer, she doesn't realize that she has finally arrived. It's empty, besides two guards and Tyler sitting on the other side of the window partition. The two guards are also on the other side of the glass, far enough away to give Tyler privacy, but close enough to intervene if he gets out of hand. It's not much he can do though, unless he tries to hurt himself, but he's too narcissistic to try and do that.

When Erin feels a hand appear on her shoulder, she realizes that she hasn't moved from the doorway. She's frozen, watching him watch her. She takes a step closer and she meets his eyes; she has looked into those orbs countless times and she saw nothing that would lead her to believe he was capable of something like this, something like murder. She takes another step closer and the guard who escorted her to the room whispers, "You can leave whenever you're ready."

She eagerly nods, "Thank you," and she takes a step and another one until she's at the glass, taking a seat and lifting the phone once Tyler lifts his.

"It's really good to see you Erin," he speaks up first and his voice, the one she didn't expect to hear ever again was haunting, "I've missed you."

"The feeling isn't mutual."

Tyler's shoulders relax as he smirks, "Some things haven't changed," his eyes take her in, roaming her body from one point to another, "I see you're still married," he's staring down at her wedding band, "How's your husband?"

"He's fine…much better than you actually."

"And Kim?" he questions, adjusting himself more comfortably in his seat, "Does she dream about me? When she sees that scar around her tattoo, does she think about me?"

"I doubt it."

"Do you?"

Her heartbeat increases, "Do I what?"

"Do you think about me when you see your scar?"

"No."

Tyler looks into her eyes and a creepy smile stretches across his face, "You're a horrible liar."

"And you're a horrible person."

He chuckles. One of the things he missed the most was their banter. And while a look of ease crosses his face, he examines her own expression –one of annoyance and irritation. Tyler decides to change the conversation; he doesn't want for her to get bored and leave. She's the only visitor he's had, so with that thought processed, he sits up straight and scoots his chair in closer, while his eyes resume traveling the half of her body he is able to see. He grins, suddenly remembering their last encounter and his hand smears itself against the glass, "I noticed you have your figure back; you're beautiful," he compliments, "How's the baby? What's her name?"

She shakes her head, "I'm not here to talk about my baby."

"Why are you here then?"

"…to get closure."

"Now how can I help you with that?"

"I want answers. I want to know why?"

"I don't know," he shrugs, losing interest in the conversation.

"You expect me to believe that?" She exclaims, finding her voice, "You expect me to believe that you have no idea why you killed all those people? Why you attacked my best friend? Why you attacked me? Why you tried to cut my baby out of me?!"

"Have you ever done something but didn't know why you did it?" He asks casually and when she nods, he continues, "That's how it was for me."

"Why me then? Why did you choose me?"

He licked his lips and chuckled, "Would you rather I chose someone else?"

"I would have rather you didn't hurt anyone!" She snapped, her free hand running stressfully though her hair, "Now, why did you choose me? Out of everyone, out of every imperfection, why did you pick me? Why did you pick mine?"

"I answer a question for you and you answer one for me. It's the only way I'll talk."

Erin felt herself growing emotional. She forces herself to sit the phone down and he watches her get herself together. She runs her hand down her face. She rubs her hands against her lap. She starts to think of good things, positive things before lifting the phone back up. He's waiting for an answer, for an agreement to his terms. And when he follows her eyes over towards the hanging clock, he yawns in boredom, "I can just save us the trouble and return to my cell. Your trip would have been a complete waste but hey I have all the time in the world," he makes a mock effort of returning the phone to the hook when he hears her voice through the ear piece.

"Fine," she nods, regrettably giving in.

"You're imperfect."

She argued, "We're all imperfect!"

"Yes, but you made me believe you were perfect. We spent months together and you never mentioned your imperfections. All of those women made me believe they were perfect until they showed me they weren't. That's the worse type of person there is," he scolded, his words held a hint of anger, "Now, it's my turn to ask a question. Is your baby as perfect as I think she is?"

Erin pressed her eyes shut, refusing to acknowledge his question with an actual answer; she reopens her eyes, revealing the deep-seeded anguish hidden within them, "Questions about my baby are off limits."

"If that's the case then questions about what I allegedly did and why I allegedly did it are off limits," he proclaimed, stubbornly, "How about we make another deal?" he suggests, quirking a brow invitingly, "I'll plead guilty to everything if you answer my questions."

"I'm not making that deal. There's no way you'll be found innocent; no way."

"Do you want to take that chance? It's amazing what money can buy. All I need is for one juror to have reasonable doubt; one juror Erin. It'll save taxpayers' dollars by cutting out a trial."

She props herself forward in her seat, leaning in as close to the glass as possible, "If you think I'm going to answer questions about my daughter just to ensure a conviction, you have another thing coming. I'm not selling her out for that. Your word means nothing! What's stopping you from lying about this like you did everything else?!"

"You'll just have to trust me."

She laughs obnoxiously, rolling her eyes at his comment, "If you think I'm going to trust you then you obviously doubt my intelligence. This was a bad idea; I shouldn't have come, but I'll find comfort in knowing that it's killing you right now."

"What is?" He says through gritted teeth, leaning back in his seat and positioning the hooked phone between his ear and shoulder, allowing his free arms to cross.

"…you know nothing about her," she answers with ease, "you don't know what she looks like, you don't know how she's doing, what's her name, what's her birthday, how old she is…you don't even know if she survived the ordeal you put me through."

Worry covers his face and all hints of smugness are gone, "Did she? Did she survive? I never meant to cause her any harm. You know that. I never set out to kill her."

"You only set out to kill me?" She retorts bitterly, "You didn't care about her."

"I was going to raise her in the image of perfection," he defended; his voice rising to a higher pitch, "I wasn't going to let your imperfections, your mistakes to determine her fate. I was going to take her out of you and raise her! I didn't try to put her in any danger."

"You're kidding, right? You didn't try to put her in any danger?" She repeated his last sentence in complete disgust, "I was eight months pregnant! You pushed me down the stairs! You dragged me across the floor! You strapped me to a chair! You forced me into preterm labor!" Erin feels herself growing emotional at the thought of what she endured, of how something so evil led to her delivering something so pure a month early, "I begged you to take me to a doctor. I bled. I was in pain. And I put all of my dignity, my respect, everything aside and begged you, a monster, to help me and all you did was grab a scalpel to cut into my stomach!" She takes a deep, calming breath and she finds some sort of comfort in the worry and regret etched across his face, "I'm not telling you what happened to her," her words are calming and she wipes the teardrop off her face, "I'm not telling you anything about her. I'll let your mind fill in the blanks. And if there's one thing we do agree upon, it's that babies are innocent, perfect and pure and you allowed for your imperfections to get a hold of you in your effort to strip me of mine. Your imperfections are the biggest of them all because of what you did!"

His throat is dry; he swallows but it hurts, "My intent was not to lay any harm upon your baby. Remember, I chose Kim solely because you were pregnant? I didn't want to hurt you because you were pregnant Erin."

"I don't care what you didn't want to do; the fact remains, you did it," Erin sniffs, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hands, "And how quickly you forget, you have that luxury. I don't. And you didn't care about her life, no matter how many times you say you do. You called her collateral damage. You didn't care about her. You cared more about inflicting pain upon me."

"When I found out you were pregnant, I chose to spare you."

"I don't give a whoop-dee fucking do what you chose," she shouts at the top of her lungs, "you changed your mind! Your wants came before the needs of an innocent baby! She deserved to come when she was ready and healthy! You took that from her. You took that from me. MY BABY," Erin exclaims brokenly, feeling the comforting hand of the nearby correctional officer rest upon her shoulder, "My baby couldn't even peacefully come into this world. She couldn't come into the world on her own terms; you had to take that from her too. You have a lot of nerve asking about her, as if I would tell you anything. I'm going to let you torment yourself, wondering what happened to her, whether she's still alive and what ramifications you caused," Erin stands up in her seat, feeling renewed and relaxed after finally getting that off her chest, "Maybe it wasn't a mistake coming here, but it'll be the last time you see me here. The next time you see me, I'll be testifying at your trial. Have a horrible day," she hangs up the phone.

The guard walks alongside her out of the room; he follows behind her as she remembers her way back to the front entrance. He found himself tearing up at the exchange; he gave in to his tugged heart strings and went to place a comforting hand upon her shoulder. She had an hour's lunch today; normally it's half an hour, but she received extended time when Dr. Charles informed Voight that he was taking her to the jail. Now, Erin was ready to head back into work; she needed a distraction. She needed to kick some ass. She needed to clear the streets of another bad guy. Eventually she makes it back to the front and spots Dr. Charles chatting it up with the officer behind the desk. The hard expression once planted on the correctional officer's face is no longer there. It seems Dr. Charles has a way of helping everyone and bringing a smile onto anyone's face. She walks up to the counter, unclips her visitor's badge and sets it down, "I'll sign you out," the officer informs.

"Thank you," she replies, feeling Dr. Charles' arm go around her shoulders as he directs her towards the exit, "I know what you're about to ask. It helped a little. What will help more is when he's officially found guilty and sentenced."

"He didn't get in your head," the psychiatrist notices, smiling proudly, "You held your own in there. And you didn't let him get to you."

"He did a little, but I managed to use it to my advantage."

This sparks Dr. Charles' curiosity; he pulls his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door from a distance, "How so?"

"He kept bringing Haven up, asking me questions about her, testing me and trying to see if that's the way he can get under my skin," she explains, walking over to the passenger side, "I used his interest in her and turned it around. I told him nothing. I answered no questions when it came to her. He doesn't even know if she's alive or not."

Dr. Charles grinned, sliding into the driver's seat, "Well I'm glad you were able to turn the whole thing around," he buckled himself in, "how do you think he'll react if he finds out you lied to him?"

"I didn't lie."

"…by omission."

She shrugs her shoulders and buckles herself in, "Who cares how he'll react. It's not any of his business anyway. And how is he even going to find out?"

"You never know; fortunately for you, for all of us, he's locked away and we'll never have to find out," Dr. Charles responds, pulling out of the parking lot of the correctional facility.

Erin leaned her head against the window, gazing out of the glass and watching the buildings and trees flash by in an instant. All of the noise –the radio music and Dr. Charles' voice singing along- disappeared. Her daydreams were realistic, consisting of flashbacks and memories of the last month and distracting her from last year's recollections of that night with Tyler, in his basement, pleading for mercy. She thinks of Annie and how so much has changed for her in a month. Her relationship with Todd has gotten serious; he whisked her away on a weekend getaway trip to Michigan for her birthday. After Annie pressed charges against Charlie, he was arrested for violating his parole. And just as soon as he was released, he was sent right back in. Without Charlie hovering and taunting her, Annie had become so much more carefree. Her child is grown and she can finally do things that she was unable to once becoming a teen mother. For years Travis had always come first in her life; now that he has a life of his own, going on dates, working and going out, Annie was left with more free time than she's ever had.

Lindsay continues daydreaming; she's thinking of her life before the baby. Even though they weren't intentionally trying to have a kid, she became pregnant at a convenient time. She and Jay were married, established in their careers and owned a house; it was no time like the present to bring Haven into the world. While her nerves, the chaos and last year's case proved to almost be too overwhelming to have a baby, she managed. And now that the baby is here, Erin doesn't regret a thing. Her mind was constantly flooded with thoughts, memories and emotions that from time to time she wished she could offer her loved ones a look into her mind and it'll be then that they'll be able to see and try to understand her way of thinking, her struggles and everything she has overcome. She begins to lose herself, her memories and everything as her daydream progresses into a world of purity, one of perfection. Erin sees herself happy, happier than what is realistically attainable, and in the image of happiness, she sees her husband, playing with their little girl. He's chasing her around their house and her toddler feet are on the move. His fingers wiggling as he pretends he's too slow to catch her, however, if she's caught, his wiggling fingers are ready to tickle her all over. Erin is watching this through her daydream; she watches Voight, Danny, and Burgess –with her own kid-, Ruzek and Olive, all pleasantly perfect in their own way. She's content at home with all of her loved ones sitting in one room and as her daydream starts to grow into a utopian image, it's broken by the sound of Dr. Charles posing a question, "What are you thinking about?"

Erin blinks out of her reverie to answer, "…what makes me happy."

"Keep those thoughts close to you," he replies, pulling his car in front of the precinct, "you've come a long way since our first meeting. The Erin I saw back in late December would never in a million years agree to see Tyler unless she got permission to kill him, so for you to see him today and walk away leaving him unscathed…it's progress."

"Yeah well," she shrugs, smirking jokingly, "you can thank the window separating us in the visiting room for that," she opens her door and hesitates before stepping out, "Thanks Dr. Charles. I'll see you next Saturday." Lindsay doesn't wait for a reply; she gets out of the car and closes the door before jogging through the warm, thick heated outside air in order to get into the air conditioned building. It's warm outside –sweater weather in the morning and tank top weather by the afternoon. It's only May and out of this whole week, this was the day that was predicted to be the hottest. It was the day everyone anticipated, unless they had to work outside.

The detective walked up the outside stairs, paying special attention to the overflow of law enforcement. The more she enters the precinct, the more officers she notices, running around, making phone calls, and gearing up. With absolutely no idea about what's going on, Erin approaches Sergeant Platt's desk, "What's happening?"

She hung up her desk phone, "Haven't you heard?" Erin shakes her head, pushing the sergeant to continue, "Two cops were shot while on patrol half an hour ago; one didn't make it." She backs away from the sergeant's desk and turns to run towards the gate; Platt buzzes her in so the inconvenient act of typing in her code wouldn't slow her down. She pulls the gate open and climbs the stairs –two by two- in order to reach the bullpen as quick as possible. When she left, everything was calm, the precinct and the streets, and now she has returned to mayhem. The team is racing around, strapping their Kevlar vests on, holstering their weapons and receiving debriefs from the hostage negotiation captain. There's so much movement that she doesn't know what to do; she doesn't know where to go. She freezes until Voight spots her, "You're right on time kid; we're suiting up!"

Jay waves her over, holding up her Kevlar vest and ready to help her strap into it. She's frozen solid as he pushes down the adhesive of the vest, tightening it protectively around her body. He pulls back her hair in order to adjust the adhesive around her other shoulder. Halstead is the only calm one in the room –besides Voight, Dawson and Olinsky- and he notices her reading the dry erase board, in search of information about what she's about to raid in on. He notices and he decides to fill in the blanks, "It was about half an hour after Dr. Charles picked you up that shots were fired and Officer Lee and Officer Tanner were hit," he pats the back of her vest, signaling he's finished, "Officer Tanner didn't make it; he died on the scene." His last statement earned a moment of silence from the two out of respect for their fellow brother in blue. She didn't know him, but he was one of them, he was a cop who took an oath to protect this city and while serving that oath, he was killed. It could have been anyone of them, any cop, and it was him.

Comfort soon finds Erin when her fingers toy with the gold necklace hanging around her neck. It was a gift from her husband on her first mother's day last Sunday. It was authentic and it meant everything to her. The necklace spelt out Haven's name in italics; it was hidden beneath her shirt, and now beneath both her shirt and her vest, but toying with it, fumbling with it with the tips of her fingers brought instant comfort. Even without her daughter here, with this necklace, she always remained close. She takes a few more seconds to appreciate the necklace around her neck, before focusing back on the pressing matters at hand; she turns to face her husband, noticing him watching her appreciate her mother's day gift. She looks over at the whiteboard again, "Where are we going now?"

Jay breaks out of his daze, "First and second responders arrived to the scene," he throws the chain connected to his badge around his neck, "we were on standby until they had a location."

"And they have one?"

"He barricaded himself inside a bank and he has hostages," Jay informs, nodding thanks to Ruzek after he's handed a sniper rifle, "I called Lexi and told her we'll be a little late. She's taking the baby to her apartment and she'll drop her back off at the house before she goes to work. We should be home by then."

"Remind me to thank her," Erin exclaims, adjusting the holster of her weapon now that her vest has been strapped on, "Al," she calls out, providing him with a genuine smile, "your daughter is a saint. I wouldn't know what to do without her."

"Aw shucks," he replies, setting his hat on top of his head, "Lexi enjoys it. And she can always use the extra money. When Lexi was on her way to pick her up from your house early this morning, she called me and all she could talk about was the things they were going to do today."

"That's really sweet," Erin gushed.

As the team departs, suited and armed with weapons, they cram into a large three-row truck, sitting uncomfortable until they reached their destination. There's a heavy weight of silence and despair looming within the vehicle when breaking news is announced on the radio and Olinsky turns up the volume. It was a live report of the shooting and it provided regular updates to the listeners; Officer Tanner had passed away they report, leaving behind a wife and two kids, ages five and eight. This peaks Erin and Jay's ears, tugging at their heart strings as they envision Tanner's wife and children receiving the news of his death. It chills her heart. It freezes his body. He automatically thinks of the hazards and the risks involved in their job. He thinks about the possibility of something happening to him, or Erin, or both of them…what would become of Haven? Burgess or Voight would become her guardian, but that's not comforting at all. Halstead and Lindsay are her parents; she should be raised by them, no one should take that away from her. If something were to happen to them, they would be leaving Haven behind, parentless. Everyday there's a possibility that they'll be running into the face of danger in order to protect someone's child, while theirs is at home, waiting eagerly to be greeted by the loving faces of her parents. It doesn't seem fair when you think about it. When you think of a bad guy –someone's kid- taking one of their lives –stripping Haven of her parent,- while the bad guy's parent still has their kid, that doesn't seem fair at all. They always thought about why their doing this job, to make the streets safe for everyone, for their daughter especially, but they never thought about the possibility of losing their lives protecting these same streets. Breaking the heart of their spouse, envisioning Tanner's wife and her reaction to the news, only stills their being even more.

Jay looks to the left; his wife is seated beside him –in the middle- with Ruzek on the other side of her. He meets her eyes. His face resembles the look on hers. They both know what the other is thinking because they're thinking the same thing. She's thinking about if she lost him. And he's thinking about if he lost her. Erin can't even picture it. She can't see herself on the receiving end of bad news pertaining to her husband. As her other half, as a portion of her heart, as a vital member of her family and as a reason she wakes up every morning with a smile on her face, she couldn't fathom losing that, losing her husband and the best father to her daughter. She notices his hand on his knee and she covers it with her own. This earns his attention and she silently mouths I love you in which he nods and mouths back the same sentiment. He looks at her, takes in her face and the sparkle in her eye as if this could be the last time he sees it. Their daughter looks like her and if Erin is taken from him, Haven would be the constant reminder of what he's lost, of what she has lost. Erin would lose a future with their kid and Haven would lose a future with her mother. Simply mouthing I love you wasn't good enough and even though they tried to keep their personal and professional lives separate, he couldn't help it. He leans over and presses his lips against hers, "No matter what happens, never forget how much I love you."

"Alright," Voight's booming voice cuts in as he turns in the driver's seat to face his team; Lindsay and Halstead's moment goes completely unnoticed by him, "our suspect has shot another officer. Everyone's seeking cover right now. We're a block away, parked down the street. It's entirely too much heat being fired for us to pull up straight to the scene."

The team climbs out of the truck, lining up and taking their weapons out of the holster. Dawson, Olinsky and Halstead are the only ones holding sniper rifles. Voight leads the group, shouting for the crowd to clear a pathway as he and his unit race through the streets. He's waving his hand erratically, "Get out of the way," he's shouting at the bystanders loitering on the sidewalks; the sound of gunfire gets louder and he comes to a sudden stop at the sight of the chaotic scene a few feet ahead. He's ducking behind a truck –his team too-and he turns to face his snipers, "I want you three," he points at Jay, Al and Antonio, "to go to the roof of that building," he points to the structure directly across the street from the bank, "set up your rifles and radio in when you have a shot! Be careful and watch your backs!"

Dawson and Olinsky run off, ducking as they make their way towards the building. Halstead finds himself hesitating, turning to his wife and cupping her face with his free hand, "I need you to be careful too," he whispers, before pecking the corner of her mouth, "We have a five month old baby waiting for us to come home."

"…only if you do the same," she murmurs back, pressing another kiss against his lips.

"I can't tell you enough how much I love you."

She leans her forehead against his, "Tell me again when all of this is over and we're safe." He nods before drawing back at the sound of Dawson calling his name through the earpiece. Erin watches him run off, ducking behind vehicles to make it safely towards the building. Once he makes it into the building, she sighs in relief. He's safe. She finds comfort in knowing that at least one of Haven's parents will return to her tonight.

Erin snaps back into focus, knowing that if she's going to make it home to her husband and her daughter, she can't be distracted. No matter how much she wants to think of them, she can't. She has to be fully present, -mind, body and spirit in the here and now. SWAT has joined them and is currently updating the team on their revised plan. They're going to be split into two teams; one will raid into the back exit while the other will surround the emergency exits of the bank just in case he tries to flee. The first and second responders are at nearby buildings making sure that every pedestrian remained inside and out of harm's way. Voight points towards Lindsay and Atwater to join team one along with him while Burgess and Ruzek team up with team two. The SWAT members take the lead, ducking behind vehicles, trees and poles in their route towards the back exit leading to an abandoned alley. They line up at the back door, ear pieces turned on and set in their ear; she hears her husband's voice cut in, informing the team he's placed, ready and waiting for a clear shot. Erin stands next to a SWAT officer, she's covering him; her hand is on his shoulder, ensuring she has his back as he prepares to kick in the door.

The man in charge radios in, notifying his captain that they're ready to raid in whenever they are given the command. They wait in position. Their stance is firm and their weapons are drawn. They're in close proximity of each other; Erin's hand remains on the man in charge's shoulder while Atwater's hand is against hers. As her hand sits there, she spots her wedding band, the ring that symbolizes their love, their vows and their devotion to one another. Her actual marriage to him is so much more than just a ring or the document they signed to make it legally official. It's a union between her and her husband, a union that meant they accepted each other's imperfections, a union that is built on trust, love, friendship, communication and respect. He's her person, the only person in the world for her. Envisioning him safe on the rooftop, watching over her, brought her peace and security. No matter how many officers surrounded her with weapons she always felt a hundred times safer knowing Jay was one of them. She breaks out of her reverie when the man before her raises three fingers, "We go in three, two," and on one he nods for his team member to knock down the door.

In a split second, they're quietly rushing in. Separating to spread around in search of the front of the bank, they follow the hand signals of the officer in charge. He's waving them towards the lobby of the bank where the hostages are being held. Shots are fired in the dark lobby; he used the hostages to block the windows obscuring the outside officers from seeing inside. It's dark in the room, all of the lights are out and they can barely see where they're going. It's too much happening. Shots continue to be fired on both sides. She's taking cover behind the counter and her ear piece starts to break and static. Erin rips it from her ear and notices Voight doing the same, "Ah," he groans, throwing it to the ground.

"Someone's shot," Erin hears and panic sets in. She doesn't see Atwater. She can barely see Voight who is sitting right next to her. The shooting dies down when a bright light shines through the front when the suspect grabs a hostage and exits. She holsters her weapon and crawls from behind the counter, spotting Atwater lying on the ground. Fear sets in. Panic takes over. Her vision is clouding with tears. She can't lose him either; he's family.

Jay heard the call before static rips through his ear piece. Someone was shot. Who? He didn't know. It wasn't said. He rips out the ear piece and hands it over to Dawson before returning to his rifle, looking through the hole and angling the weapon towards the entrance. He watches the suspect leave the exit, holding his arm around a hostage's neck while pressing a weapon against her back. Orders are shouted; he has the nerve to make demands. His eyes are erratic and his attention is on the officers more than the witness. Jay uses that to his advantage and once the woman elbows him in the stomach, he makes the shot –ending him. And before he's able to sigh in relief and appreciate the fact that the threat is gone, he leaves his rifle with Dawson and Olinsky and departs the roof of the building. He takes the stairs two by two, sometimes three by three in an effort to get to the first floor as quick as possible. The closer he gets, the more he finds his heart racing; he just needs to see her. Halstead walks out of the front door, the bright sunlight beaming down upon him and the heat of the afternoon elicits sweat onto his forehead. He's pushing through the crowd of officers and his speed only decreases when he sees her. She's walking ahead of Voight whose arm is wrapped around Atwater. Halstead runs up to her, running his hand through her hair and giving her a once over, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she's out of breath and her eyes are red from overwhelmingly crying, "Atwater was shot, but he's fine. The bullet hit his vest. He'll definitely be sore for a few days. He's still going to get checked out by the paramedics though."

His hand remains held against his wife's face, refusing to lose contact with her as he peers over her shoulder, "Kev…"

"I'm good," he gives Jay a nod of affirmation, "I just need a beer and a good sports game and I'm all set."

Halstead chuckles, watching as Voight leads Atwater over to the waiting ambulance. He turns back to his wife, wrapping his muscular arms around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest. Jay can see as officers spread a sheet over the deceased man's body while other officers depart from the bank. He's content in the middle of the bank's parking lot, finding his legs unable to move. Eventually he feels his wife's arms wrap around him and she looks up, resting her chin against his chest, "This case hit you hard too."

"Yeah," his mouth is dry and he worriedly licks his lips, "It would have hit me regardless because officers were shot, but I think it hit me the hardest because I was thinking about Haven."

She nods against his chest, "I always worry about if something were to happen to her, what I would do," Erin speaks up, blocking out the loud chatter and sirens surrounding them, "but I never really thought about –until today- what I would do if something happened to you. You're her dad. She needs you just as much as she needs me. I wouldn't be able to do this by myself and I kept thinking about if you were Officer Tanner and I received the news of your death, how I would handle it…It wouldn't be very well I can assure you of that."

"I love you."

She draws back suddenly and rests her hand against her forehead to block the sunlight, "I love you too, and not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

"You told me to tell you that when we made it out safe."

Taking his hand within hers, she gives it a gentle squeeze, "Let's go home. I miss my baby."

"Yeah, I do too."

Through all the madness and the chaos, the officers and the media, he holds his wife's hand and pulls her through the crowd. It's a madhouse. The streets are flooded with paramedics, crime scene investigators, reporters, officers and the occasional bystander. He's searching for the team since they all rode here together, and as his eyes scan the crowd, he spots Ruzek and Burgess also searching for the team. Holding Erin's hand, he pulls her as he quickens his pace, "Hey, guys!" He waves his free arm in the air. Burgess taps Ruzek's shoulder and points towards the approaching couple. Ruzek meets them halfway, "We have the keys. Voight is going to the hospital with Atwater; he's fine, they just want to make sure there's no internal damage. Dawson's hanging back with Brett and Olinsky is working with the SWAT captain to clear the scene. Voight says good work and we can head back to the precinct and go home," Ruzek throws his arm around Kim's shoulder, "Let's get out of here," he pressed a kiss against the side of his fiancée's head before leading the team in the direction of the squad truck.

Police tape blocked most of the streets, preventing cars from driving in front of the building and causing traffic on the streets within three blocks of the bank. Even though they successfully took out the threat, no one was celebrating. A life was still lost. Officers sustained injuries. Loved ones were grieving. No one was in the mood to celebrate. Reporters just about begged anyone for a statement, going so far as to practically shove the microphone in Kim's face in order to get an official statement on the record. Burgess had nothing to say; she simply pushed the microphone away and kept walking. They continued walking through the crowd, excusing themselves and sliding through the small opening of people lined on the streets. Eventually they arrive to the truck, climbing in with Ruzek driving, Halstead in the passenger seat and Burgess and Lindsay in the back, all buckled in and ready to get home.

The news report remains on the radio and a sigh of relief is heard from each detective when they hear the other officer shot is expected to make a full recovery. It's a hot and sad day, one full of grief and anguish. It's a day everyone is ready to end. Erin reaches up to toy once more with her necklace; her finger trace out her daughter's name written in italics. It's a good distraction, one that was definitely needed after today. She leans her head against the headrest and continues to fumble with the chain around her neck, bringing it out so it can be seen. It lays against her vest in all its beautiful glory, sparkling under the sunlight beaming through the window and drawing Kim's attention in, "Is that what you got for Mother's Day?"

Erin nods, turning in her seat to give Kim a better view of it, "It was given to me in a beautiful, fancy box with a note attached telling me it's from Haven and it's to mommy," Erin chuckles at the memory, knowing her husband was the mastermind behind it all, "It was the best first Mother's Day. Nothing else could have made it better."

"What did you do?"

This conversation lightened the mood as everyone listened in as Erin answered Kim's question, "Well first and foremost I got to sleep in. He woke up, took the baby and the baby monitor and I heard nothing. It's been a long time since I woke up naturally. So eventually, I woke up to breakfast in bed. Jay made me blueberry waffles, bacon and eggs and served it to me on a tray with a glass of orange juice on the side and a beautiful red rose."

"Glad you steered clear of pink roses," Ruzek quipped, earning a shove to the arm from Jay.

Erin rolled her eyes and continued, "Anyway, Voight came over and he framed this photo of me and Haven he took at the hospital; I had no idea it was taken. It's hanging up now and it's absolutely beautiful. Olive and Danny also came over and we all had a picnic in the park. It was a nice day, beautiful outside and it was perfect," she leaned forward in her seat to squeeze her husband's shoulder, "Thanks babe."

The ride continues, and some moments the traffic picks up while in other times it's standstill. It ranges, but the most irritating thing about it is they're currently a street over from the precinct, but they're in standstill traffic. In order to pass the time, Burgess sparks another conversation, approaching a topic that Erin wished she didn't –Tyler. Kim tugs at Erin's hand, pulling in her attention and she clears her throat before awkwardly speaking up, "I was going to wait to ask until we were alone, but I'm just too curious. How was the visit?"

"It went better than I expected."

Burgess thinks back to her attack and she swallows nervously, "Did he mention me?" And when Erin nods, she resumes her questioning, "What did he want to know?"

"…if you ever had dreams about him, about what he did."

This earns the attention of everyone in the car and as a result, Erin drops the subject. She turns to face the window, watching the buildings pass as the traffic picks up. And in time, they pull up in front of the precinct and Ruzek parks the truck. Climbing out, they exhaustively hike the stairs and walk into the building, immediately taking in the flow of air conditioning. Platt catches the keys when Adam tosses them her way and she nods for Burgess and Lindsay, wanting to speak with them over who will be doing the tedious task of paperwork while Ruzek and Halstead head upstairs, slowly stripping themselves of their vests. The two men go to put away their vests before returning to the bullpen. Ready to leave once his wife returns, Jay leans against the edge of his desk, focused down on something on his cell, "Hey Halstead," Ruzek calls out, jogging over, "I want to talk to you for a minute."

Jay looks up and pockets his phone, "Yeah, what about?"

"You."

"Me," Jay questions, pointing at himself.

"Yeah, about you being my best man."

"Dude," Jay clasped his hand around Adam's shoulder, "of course, yeah, I would be honored."

Ruzek chuckled, "Cool, cool, and a part of your best man duties is to plan my bachelor party, and you have plenty of time, my wedding won't even be this year," his chuckles calm and he suddenly grows serious, "I also want to talk to you about something else."

Jay suspiciously asks, "What is it?"

"Erin's your wife."

"…yeah, as far as I know," he jokes.

"She's the mother of your daughter."

He nods, "…yeah, that I'm pretty sure about!"

"And next month it'll be going on seven years for you two; that's almost ten years."

"That's right," Jay's brows furrow in confusion; he has no idea where Adam is going with all of this, "Ruzek, what…what is all of this about? What are you trying to ask me?"

"How did you know Erin was the right one for you?"

That was the million dollar question asked by many engaged individuals. How do you know the person you're marrying is your other half, your right pick and your forever partner? Those fears and insecurities did arise for him as it did for Erin before they were married, but it was definitely closer to their actual wedding, not over a year away. And for Ruzek to have been engaged multiple times, and already questioning whether or not Kim is the right person for him seconds after asking Jay to be his best man seemed a bit odd, a little nerve wrecking. Jay considers his question, thinking back to the second he came to the firm conclusion that he was going to ask Erin to marry him. He wasn't nervous or scared. He was as sure about this as he was about anything else in his life. Jay stands tall, shoulders broad and arms crossed over his muscular chest, "She's everything and more. She works hard, she's kind and gentle and being with her makes me a better person. She balances me out. She's my best friend. When I wake up in the morning, she's the first person I think about and when I go to bed, she's the last," Ruzek hangs onto every word his best friend utters, "She's funny. She has my back. She definitely calls me out on all my shit. My life is so much better with her in it. And most importantly, I saw a future with her. I couldn't see my life without her. I saw us getting a house together. I saw us getting a dog, which I still try to convince her to get every day, so far no such luck," he smirks to lighten the mood, "I saw us having a kid. I saw us growing old together. I couldn't picture paying bills with anyone but her. I couldn't see myself having a child with anyone else but her. I can't see myself arguing over money, over leaving the toilet seat down, over small petty things with anyone but her. I'll leave it at this. Dating her made my life better, but marrying her, made it complete."

At the sound of the girls' voices as they climb the stairs, the men change the conversation. Ruzek switches the topic over to baseball. The girls are none the wiser of the previous conversation. Stripped out of their bullet proof vests, they head to set it down at their desks, "So I'll probably drop by later after I finish all of this paper work," Kim informs over the loud laughter of their significant others. Lindsay simply nods, stepping away from everyone's booming voices to make a quick phone call to Lexi, however Olinsky's daughter doesn't answer. The phone rings once and then it's sent to voicemail. Without thinking much of it, she begins to leave a message, "Hey Lexi, it's just me, Erin. Um, I'm calling to let you know that we'll be leaving work soon." She missed her baby and she knew Lexi had work tonight. She watched Haven during the day and at night she went in for the late shift. Erin hangs up and immediately starts calling back, but this time, she gets an answer after the first ring, "Hi Erin; I'm so sorry I sent your call to voicemail. I was just getting off the phone with my boyfriend."

"I was just calling to say that Jay and I will be leaving work in the next five minutes."

"Okay, cool," Lexi nods enthusiastically, "I'm going to change into my work clothes; I've been in pajamas basically all day. Once I change, I'll be heading out."

"Sounds good," Erin hangs up and walks back over to the team, "Jay, you ready to head out."

He nods, "You called Lexi?"

"Yeah," she pulls out the car keys and waves goodbye to her friends as they walk down the stairs, "She'll be leaving out once she's dressed for work. That gives us some down time, maybe to eat and talk about today."

Jay holds the gate open for her, "Talk about today?" She smiles in gratitude and returns the favor by holding open the entrance door.

"Yeah, a lot happened. Officer Tanner –whom we both barely knew- was killed in the line of duty," she brings up, unlocking the car door as they approach their vehicle, "He has two young kids. He has a wife. This case hit close for both of us because not only is he a cop, but he's a husband and a dad. I know you thought about Haven," she hops into the driver's seat and buckles herself in, "because I did too. And I know you thought about me because I thought about you."

He gives in to the conversation; "Today was really hard," his hand intertwines with her right hand as she steers the steering wheel with her left, "I haven't felt like this since that baby went missing a few months ago, but Antonio says it does get easier because we'll channel our emotions differently. Instead of them weighing us down, they'll fuel us. We're new to this," he lifts her hand to kiss it, "but we got it covered."

During the drive, the exhaustion and the fatigue started to settle in. It has been an absolutely long and drawn out day; both of them are drained. They would have a window of opportunity for some downtime until Lexi arrived with the baby. And normally they would have appreciated the break, but after hard days at work seeing Haven's face is just what the doctor ordered. Erin dragged her feet out of the car the second it's placed in park; she shuts the door and locks the vehicle before following her husband up the porch stairs, "I can't wait until Lexi gets here; I want my baby back; I miss her."

He pushes open the front door after unlocking it, "Yeah, after days like today, I miss her even more," he proclaims, nudging the door closed, "I'll go heat up our leftovers from last night. It's the first time we can actually eat dinner at the table without entertaining a baby on our lap." Jay leaves his wife standing at the entrance to go to the kitchen, pulling their containers of food out and plates from the overhead cabinets.

Erin finally begins walking down the hallway, staring at every photo hung up and aligned perfectly on the wall. She stares into the progression of pictures, starting with them and their friends before they even started dating, to when they started dating, to their wedding, to their years of wedded bliss and finally ending with pictures of them as a family. It was beautiful. The wall in their hallway told a story. And when she hears the microwave ding, she arrives to the last photo that was hung a month ago. She's fixated on it. It has become one of her absolute favorite photos. The picture was taken late last month at Diego's birthday party; he had just turned 18. His dad threw him a backyard barbeque, invited the team over and a bunch of Diego's friends. It's a photo of the team –of everyone she cares about and adores. They're all her family and this picture deserved a rightful place upon the hallway wall. In the group photo there's the Intelligence unit and their kids. Olinsky's arm is slung around Lexi's shoulders and the twenty-three year old is grinning at the camera while Mouse, Atwater, Halstead, Ruzek, Dawson and Diego are stooping low in the center of the group shot, doing their best attempt at being smooth and cool. In the photo, Voight is laughing; the happiness has reached his eyes and the camera catches him looking at his team with the widest smile on his face. Burgess and Lindsay have their arms wrapped around each other's waists and beaming ear to ear at the photographer –Brett. And lastly, Eva –Antonio's twenty-one year old daughter- is holding Erin's then four month old in her arms, not paying any attention to the camera as she tickles the baby, laughing along with the four month old. It was a good day. No worries. No stresses. Everyone got to be together. They all ate really yummy food –with the exception of Haven. And Diego said this was one of his best and most memorable birthdays. They were all honestly sad to see it end.

Her mind is at peace thinking back to this memory; it's the first semblance of peace she has had all day. And she lifts her hand and rests her palm against the frame, "Er," she pulls her hand away when her husband's voice startles her, "I heated up our food and made our plates. Let's see how many bites we can get in before Lexi comes begging for us to take Haven back." It felt like a challenge. Knowing that at any second Olinsky's daughter will be knocking at the door, holding out a car seat and practically dropping the baby off at their doorstep before leaving for work. With every bite they take in silence and with every minute that passes, they know Lexi is only getting close. And she is…she's already in the car, her fingers tap against the steering wheel as a song repeatedly plays out in her head. Her cell phone is on speaker, resting in her cup holder and her boyfriend's voice is booming through, it's loud and drowning out the gurgles and babbles of the baby in the back. Haven doesn't notice. She's in her own world. She's strapped in her car seat, facing the seat leather; Lexi is out of her line of vision and all she's left with playing with is her toy keys. The two bottom teeth are still in the process of coming in and the irritation to her gums had begun to increase. In one hand, she's holding her toy, plastic keys and in the other she has her teething ring. Her brain is unable to make a decision on which to put into her mouth. Lexi pulls to a red light and looks over her shoulder to see the baby distracted by the colorful objects in her hand. She focuses back in on her boyfriend's nagging voice and rolls her eyes, "You're being a jealous idiot," she honks the horn at the car in front of her, "That guy isn't even my type! We went to high school together; we were friends once…that's all!"

Occasionally throughout the day, throughout the week and since Lexi had started watching Haven, she spent most of her time on the phone having pointless arguments with her boyfriend. She hears his voice grow higher and hers increases in volume as well. Neither knows what the other is saying. They're yelling over each other and not resolving anything. She honks the horn again before turning onto the Halsteads' street and pulling in front of their house, putting her car in park and rolling up all of the windows. Her once cool car immediately starts filling up with the outside heat. Lexi cuts off the engine and it suddenly gets hotter; her body is starting to stick to the leather of her seats. She remains seated, waiting patiently for her boyfriend to finish his rant, but eventually she cuts him off, "Are you serious right now?" She takes her phone off speaker, sets the keys in the cup holder, pops the trunk, gets out of the car and locks the door before closing it, "If you're going to continue accusing me of cheating then I might as well start cheating! We didn't do anything and you threatening to break up with me isn't going to solve anything," she shouts into her phone, walking over to the opened trunk, pulling the diaper bag out of it before slamming it shut, "No! No," she argues, throwing the strap of the diaper bag around her shoulder, "You had your turn! It's my turn now! If you're going to break up with me, then break up with me! I'm done arguing with you! Nothing happened between us; we only went out to a restaurant to eat, catch up and share memories! That's all!" She hollers, angrily storming up to the front door; Lexi closes her fist and begins knocking, "I'll call you back," and she didn't wait for a response or an agreement before hanging up.

As she stands outside, she fans herself. She's not in the greatest mood because of the argument and as she impatiently waits, her foot begins tapping irritably. There's a clear, stretched out frown on her face that is forcibly turned into a smile when the door unlocks and opens. Erin is standing there, grinning from ear to ear, revealing the deep dimples in her cheeks; she steps outside, "Thank you so much Lexi for watching her a little later than usual," Lindsay is given the diaper bag and she throws it over her shoulder, "It's nice to know we have someone we can count on," her eyes pull away from Lexi and she scans her immediate surroundings, "You don't even know how much I missed my baby," she averts her eyes back up to Lexi, "Where is she?"

And that's when it clicks. That's when Lexi realizes her hands are empty. Her phone is now inside her pocket and she isn't holding a car seat. She's not holding a baby. Neither of the two is with her or near her and panic starts to set in. Her argument with her boyfriend is far from her mind. The appreciation and gratitude she felt from Erin was nowhere to be found when she looked back up at her dad's coworker. She notices that Lindsay's serious, the smile is no longer on her face and her dimples have disappeared. She throws the diaper bag to the ground and steps further outside, "If this is a joke, it's not funny Lexi! Where is my baby?!" And her voice is loud enough for Jay to hear; he confusedly walks over to the door and lifts the diaper bag up, setting it down more carefully in the house.

Lexi is thinking hard; she's trying to remember the last time she saw the baby. She could have sworn she was holding the car seat this entire time, but it had been the diaper bag. The twenty-three year old had been so distracted by her argument with her boyfriend that she wasn't paying attention. She remembers driving and looking in the backseat to check in on the baby and that's when she recalls it; the baby is still in the car. And once she realizes it, they hear the sound of Haven's cries fill the neighborhood. Lexi takes off towards her vehicle –Jay and Erin are close on her heel- and she goes to the backseat, jiggling on the handle to find the car locked. She pats her pockets –no keys- and when she looks into the passenger side window, she sees them in the cup holder, "Shit," she turns to face the panicked parents, "I locked them inside my car."

Erin approaches the back window, peering inside to see her daughter's face a light shade of red with sweat beads appearing on her forehead. She's hot. She's uncomfortable. She's alone. She knocks on the glass to distract her daughter, but when Haven notices her, Erin's heartbreaks more. The five month old drops her toys and extends her hands in the direction of her mother. She's too young to understand. She doesn't get why her mother isn't picking her up. Erin begins beating her fist against the back window, "Hi baby," she coos, struggling to remain calm, "We're going to get you. Hi, look at mommy," Erin waves and cracks a funny face.

"Move," Jay says in a rush, waving for Lexi to get out of his way. He approaches the passenger side window, withdraws his weapon from its holster and uses the butt of the gun to break the glass. It startles the baby and she begins crying louder. She doesn't know what's going on and the sudden sound scared her. Jay reaches inside and unlocks the door, sighing in immediate relief when he sees his wife open the backdoor and begin unstrapping the baby from her car seat. Buckle after buckle, Haven's cries grow louder as she impatiently and erratically waits for her mother to lift her. And once Erin does, she doesn't stop crying; she only gets louder.

Haven's mouth was wide open as her mother bounced her in her arms in an effort to calm her down. It's not working. Her hazel eyes are brimmed with tears, her little mouth is stretched wide open and her bottom lip quivered with each wail. Erin maneuvers the baby around in her arms to put her in the belly hold; she drapes the baby –her head, stomach and chest- over her forearm and once double checking to ensure the baby's head is turned outward and resting near the crook of her arm, she begins to pat and rub circles into the center of the baby's back in an effort to soother her. The five month old's head remains supported while being held but her cries don't stop. She only gets louder and it makes Lexi feel absolutely horrible; she desperately steps towards the crying baby, "I'm so sorry," her apology is frantic and full of guilt, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Lindsay deliberately ignores the apology; she doesn't care too much for it right now while her daughter is screaming her lungs out. Jay is even stooped low to be eye level with Haven and attempt to make noises and faces to calm her down. That's not working either. Erin whispers coos and softly hums as she continues to rub the baby's back; her hand pressed against the damp onesie filled with a few drops of sweat. This technique doesn't work; it normally does, but she's too upset. Erin adjusts the baby and moves her into a chest-to-chest hold, pressing the infant close to her chest so Haven can lay her head against it. Her head rests over her mother's heart and the sound of her heartbeat starts to comfort her. Erin's right hand and arm is wrapped around Haven's bottom, supporting most of the baby's weight while her left hand protects and lies gently over the baby's head and neck. Her cheek rests over her mother's chest, listening in and finding comfort with every beat of Erin's heart. Soon enough, her loud, wailing and harsh cries begin to soften and turn into snuffles and sniffs.

Lexi looks over at the broken glass of her passenger seat window. She didn't care about it. She felt really bad about Haven. And of all the years she has known Erin, she has never seen her speechless and angry. It was frightening. Lexi approaches again now that Haven has calmed down some, "Erin," she looks at her before averting her eyes to her husband, "Jay, I am really sorry," Lindsay continues to ignore her as she presses a kiss against the side of her daughter's dirty blonde hair, "You have to know this was an accident. It wasn't intentional. It was a mistake. I just got distracted. And…and I promise it won't happen again."

"Of course it won't," she says through gritted teeth, "because you're not watching her anymore. I trusted you with my baby! You see on the news how babies are left in hot cars and you see what happens to them! This isn't a joke! This isn't something that can be easily swept under the rug! You got distracted once, what's to stop it from happening again Lexi?"

"It was an accident," she whispers, eyes staring down at the ground, "I was arguing with my boyfriend on the phone and I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh, I see," Erin sarcastically sighs, continually rubbing circles into the baby's back, "your phone call with your boyfriend was more important than the safety of my baby."

"That's not true!"

"You left her in a hot car Lexi!"

"It wasn't on purpose!"

"Who gives a fuck whether or not it was on purpose? It happened! It happened Lexi!"

"The argument was getting so bad and it distracted me! I thought I had her! I thought I was holding her! She wasn't in the car that long."

Erin lays another kiss to the side of her daughter's head, "And that's supposed to make me feel better? She wasn't in the car that long. You're joking, right? You thought you had her. You have got to be kidding me, right? You locked your keys in a hot car with my kid! That's irresponsible! That's reckless! That's negligent! And out of respect for your parents, I'm going to stop talking before I say something that's really going to hurt your feelings. Goodbye Lexi," Lindsay turns on her heel and carries the baby into the house.

Lexi stares until the front door slams shut. She could feel Halstead's eyes staring at her, waiting for her to turn back around but she's too afraid. She already feels horrible. And in her peripheral vision, she can see just how mad he is; he's fuming. Jay suddenly tears his eyes away when she turns to face him; he's unable to look at her, knowing that if he does, she'll see the anger burning deep within his orbs. Jay distracts himself by going to the backseat of the car and removing the car seat; it has no further purpose being strapped in her backseat. He just wanted to take the seat and go into the house without uttering any words, but she spoke and whispered his name, "Jay," he catches his breath as she continues, "I really am sorry. You have to believe me."

Holding the handle of the car seat and pulling it out of the vehicle, he exhaustingly sighs, "Just get out of here Lexi. None of us are in the mood to argue today."

"If I can just explain myself then-"

"LEAVE!" He shouts, pointing towards her vehicle; she jumps the second she hears his loud, booming voice order for her to depart. Lexi pushes a strand of hair behind her ear and hurriedly scrambles towards her car, ignoring her ringing cell phone to hop inside, start up the engine and pull off. Before she left, leaving Jay standing on the edge of his lawn holding his daughter's empty car seat, he could hear her crying. She made a big mistake, one that could have easily been avoided, but it was a mistake nonetheless. The car was hot, the baby was crying and sweating and fortunately enough Lexi drove to the Halsteads' house instead of a store because as she thinks of the possibilities she knows that if she walked into a store while distracted on the phone, she may have been too preoccupied to realize she left the baby in the car…until it was too late. It's not just about Lexi being distracted, Haven being inconsolable or forgotten about; it's about what could have happened, it's about seeing on the news how kids are accidentally left in a hot car and it's about the fact that they trusted Lexi in being responsible enough to watch their baby. They just want a decent babysitter; that shouldn't be too much to ask for.

Jay finally collects himself once Lexi's car disappears from the street. While holding the car seat, he makes his way back to the house, walking through the lawn and approaching the front door. He walks inside and sets the car seat down beside the diaper bag, "Babe is that you?" He hears his wife call out before continually making shushing sounds to ease the baby's cries and sniffles. Halstead locks the door and walks further into the house, "Yeah."

"Are you alone?"

"Yeah." He sees his wife in the kitchen, cradling their daughter in her arms and pacing back and forth. She's too worked up. She's too upset. His wife was always a hothead, a firecracker, but that was something he loved about her. Her small body had the capacity to get so angry. He hated being on her bad side, but he loved seeing her so protective and filled with rage while defending others. When it came to he and Haven, Erin was willing to go to the ends of the earth and he was the same. Their little family meant the world to them and when there was a threat against that –whether foreign or domestic- there's normally hell to pay.

As his wife increases the speed of her pace while ranting and raving, he scoops the calm and quieted baby from her arms. She's feeling much better. She probably doesn't even remember anything that has happened. Once the baby is safe and secured in his arms, she continues to pace, "We basically fired one of my closest friends from babysitting Haven out of fear that Charlie, whom she has no association with may harm her. Annie has never had any problems watching Haven. We've never had any problems with Annie, but Lexi, she's too young and inexperienced. How come we didn't notice this before?" She's fuming and if this were a cartoon, steam would be blowing out of her ears, "When will people understand that you can't be distracted when you're supposed to be watching a baby? The problem that we found ourselves in Jay is the fact that we didn't do a normal hiring process; we didn't interview, look at recommendations or past experiences; we did none of that. We hired her because she's Al's daughter. And you," she immediately turns to face her husband, "this was your idea! You wanted us to fire Annie out of concern for what someone else might do. I mean," she swats his outstretched hand away and covers her forehead with it and sighs, "I'm just so freaking angry right now."

"Yeah," he whispers, slowly stepping towards her, "I'm trying really hard to understand you right now, but I swear I'm lost. Why are you upset with me?"

"I'm not." She gave him a half-hearted smile, "I…I'm just-"

Jay holds Haven with one arm up against his chest and wraps his other arm around his wife, pulling her into his chest. It calms her down. Leaning her head against his chest, she faces the baby whose head is leaned against the other side of his chest. At some point during Erin's rant, the baby dozes off, completely exhausted from crying. Erin wraps one of her arms around his waist and snuggles further into his chest, "She seems to have gotten over it," Lindsay whispers, gently brushing the back of her finger against the baby's chubby cheeks, "She has the pleasure of forgetting what happened while I don't think I'll ever forget."

"We shouldn't forget," he murmurs, pecking the top of his wife's head. Their hug ends, and they separate from each other. Jay walks over to the swing and gently places the sleeping baby inside, turning it on to its lowest setting. He walks over to the couch and flops down upon it, patting his lap signaling for his wife to join him in which she reluctantly agrees. Erin drags her feet and sits next to her husband on the couch before laying her head down upon his lap and lifting her feet to rest on the couch cushions. Halstead is gazing over at his sleeping daughter rocking forwards and backwards in the swing while running his fingers through his wife's brunette hair, comforting her because he knew the root of her anger came from panic; he knew that in this moment it all originated from her being alarmed over the whole incident.

His fingers continually ran through the strands of her hair as he whispered, "You had every right to be afraid. We both did."

"Yeah, but the more I think about it," She sits up to face her husband, "the more I start to get angry again. I turn into this overprotective mama bear. Lexi was so careless," Erin exclaims, standing up and resuming her earlier pace back and forth in front of him, "She was irresponsible and negligent Jay!" Her eyes cast downward to see her daughter silently swinging, but she's awake, eyes groggy and open as she tries to process the world. The baby's small mouth springs wide open and she emits a yawn while stretching out her arms. A side grin appears –warming Erin's heart- before the baby becomes distracted by her toes and feet, pulling her legs up towards her mouth. Erin smirks, chuckling once softly as she watches her entertained baby look up at her with a sideways open-mouth smile, revealing those inherited dimples. It melts her heart and it reminds her of what could have happened, the possibility and the risk of her getting hurt and she quickly turns to face her husband, "How are you not upset?"

"Who says I'm not upset?" He retorts, standing up, "Who says I'm not mad and pissed because trust me," he smirks, "I am. I just have a different way of showing it."

Silence takes over the living room for a few seconds before Haven starts to fret; she's bored, in need of immediate entertainment. Her short attention span distracted her from her feet and toes. It no longer holds her attention and out of pure boredom, she starts to fret and whine. Jay scoops her up and she giggles as he raises her above his head; her small hands reach for his nose and she grips it, laughing loudly as Jay makes several silly faces. She removes her hands from his nose and they grasp the side of his face; he continues with the faces, ensuring her giggles were loud and full of joy. Jay brings her in and peppers kisses around her face before drawing her away, smiling to himself as he watches her face turn red from laughing so hard. The sounds of her laughs fill the living room and warms Erin's heart and she walks closer to her husband and baby as Haven's small hands hold the side of her dad's face and when he leans her in to smooch her cheek, she catches him off guard and gives him an open mouthed kiss against his nose, "Ew," Jay chuckles, drawing her back to hear her laughs increase in volume.

He brings her in once more and peppers kisses against her cheek; she curls her head and laughs much more harder that she could feel it in her stomach. She doesn't stop though. Erin grabs the baby's blanket and opens it up in front of the couch. Keeping the baby in his arms, Jay kicks off his shoes and walks onto the blanket, taking a seat with his legs criss-cross and standing the baby up in front of him. She's holding her head up. He's holding her in an upright position while most of her body weight leans against his chest. Erin crawls onto the floor, taking a seat next to her husband and watching the twinkle in her daughter's hazel eyes. With that twinkling spark in Haven's orbs, all is good in the world. Jay holds her hands and lifts her up onto her feet; her wobbly stance, her toes curled inward and her legs bouncing as her trusted father holds her upright. Haven's mouth falls open in a smile and her unstable legs cause for her to bounce; it's building the strength in her legs. Every ounce of weight and her standing position is only maintained because it's solely dependent upon the person who is holding her.

Jay brings her in and begins tickling her stomach, urging her and causing her to lose the fighting battle against endless laughs. She's back in his lap and she's laughing so hard. She barely has two teeth at the bottom and as she grins it's completely adorable. The volume of her laugh rises and falls with each passing second. Jay tickles her more and her laughter mixes with a delightful hiccup; her hands wrap around her father's fingers as the tickling stops. She's breathing hard from laughing so hard. Erin crawls to sit in front of her husband and baby; she stoops her head low and becomes eye level with the five month old and attempts to coo and murmur in baby talk. Haven reaches her hand out and sets it on her mom's cheek, exploring her face with her tiny fingers. She gives a gummy smile, providing her mother with her signature dimpled grin. Haven is talking in a language that is unfamiliar to their ears; her voice rises and falls in response to every coo and facial expression Erin gives. She's reacting to the entertainment, curling her fists and throwing them up and down in excitement.

The doorbell rings. Erin's face drops. The lovely family moment has been interrupted. Erin hops to her feet and hesitates before heading towards the door when she sees Jay set the baby down beside him. For a second, she sits alone without the support of anything but once that second passes she starts to fall back. Jay scoops her up before she goes back completely, "Whoops!" He lifts her up and then sits her down again beside him. Erin hears the doorbell ring again, "I'm coming," she starts jogging towards it, only to stop when the bottom latch is unlocked and it's pushed open, revealing Burgess carelessly strolling inside; Erin crosses her arms, "How many times do I have to tell you that your key is for emergencies only?"

She shuts the door behind her, "I rang the doorbell twice AND this is an emergency," she rushes over to her best friend, "I heard what happened. I was finishing up the paperwork when Lexi called Olinsky. He filled us in," she follows Erin into the living room and suddenly stops at the sight of the baby on her tummy. Haven is pushing her head up and looking around; when she sees her mother has returned, she grins.

Kim kicks off her shoes and crawls onto the blanket. She's holding her purse, and lies next to the five month old. She hasn't experienced stranger anxiety yet, which is great. Burgess lies next to Haven, but on her back instead of mimicking the baby on her stomach. She sets her purse on her stomach and reaches into it, "I brought something for you," she pulls out a bottle of bubbles. Kim eagerly sits up with her legs wide open and pulls the baby to sit in between them, using Kim's chest to sit her upright properly. The parents watch as Burgess opens the bottle of bubbles and blows a few in front of the amazed baby. Her attention is no longer on her parents. Her full attention is on the four bubbles floating in front of her face. One floats through the air and pops when it lands on her nose –she giggles. Kim blows some more, but this time Haven is prepared and she reaches both of her hands out to grab them, only looking down at her empty palms when the bubble disappears. Haven reaches out again while Burgess keeps one arm around her little stomach to ensure she didn't fall forward. When the bubbles pop again, the response is repeated, Haven simply looks down at her hands to find them empty. She didn't understand.

Jay breaks out of his gaze; he had been watching the interaction the whole time, "I'll go clean up the dishes from dinner."

"I'll get the baby's dinner," Erin speaks up, following him out of the room.

Kim blows more bubbles, "And I'll continue playing with baby Halstead!"

Bubbles after bubbles were blown for Haven to reach out and grab until her mother returned, holding a bib in one hand and a green baby plastic spoon and a jar of sweet potato baby food in the other. She takes a seat in front of Kim and the baby, criss-crossing her legs and setting the food and spoon down beside her. She sees Burgess close the lid on the bottle of bubbles, "So, I have a question about her feeding," she leans over and sets the bubbles down on the nearest end table, "What's her normal feeding routine? Is she completely done with milk?"

"She still has bottles throughout the day," Erin corrects, clasping the bib around the baby's neck, "but since she's a growing girl her appetite has increased," she lifts the jar of food and unscrews the cap, "Sometimes before bed, we give her a bottle of baby rice cereal and she sleeps right through the night; she doesn't get hungry until a more reasonable hour in the morning." Erin scoops infant sweet potatoes onto the spoon and serves it to the baby.

Kim watches with a grin and continues talking, "I must admit I came over for another reason too," when Erin eyes her suspiciously, she resumes, "It's nothing bad. I just wanted to ask you something very important."

"I'm listening…" Erin whispers, gently scraping the sweet potatoes from around the baby's mouth before serving those to her, "What's up?"

"I want you to be my maid of honor."

Erin hesitates; she pauses and the spoonful of sweet potatoes is held a few inches away from the baby. Her attention is drawn to Burgess and she eagerly nods her head, "Of course!" She serves the next bite, "Of course I'll be your maid of honor! Yes!"

"Good," Kim bites her lip and nods.

"So, now the next step; when's the date?"

Burgess continues to watch the baby being fed, "I was thinking some time next summer, but Ruzek was thinking some time next fall. The only thing we can agree on about the date is us wanting it next year. Also, Haven will be walking and I want her to be my flower girl."

"You do know that she'll be a newbie walker and not to mention, you're asking her in the future –a one year old- to not only walk down the aisle, but throw flowers," Erin chuckles, watching the baby smirk with orange sweet potatoes smeared around her mouth, "You might be asking too much of an almost two year old."

"Whatever she does will be perfect," Kim responds, titling her head forward to peck the top of the baby's head, "I just want you and Haven to be in my wedding."

"What you want is what you shall get."

"Thank you."

Erin feeds the baby her last bite, "I'm looking forward to helping you plan the wedding."

"Ruzek will love you for that. He's not looking forward to wedding planning at all and wants to only show up to taste the food and say his I do's at the actual ceremony."

Lindsay takes off the baby's bib and dabs her mouth with it, "Well I'll be there for the dress fitting and the bachelorette party."

"And I want your help in picking out a venue for the wedding and the reception and I want your help in choosing a destination for the honeymoon."

"You do realize that's what future husbands are for," Erin quipped.

"He's not into any of that stuff; he gave me total control and with that control I want your help."

"I'll do anything for the bride."

Lindsay collects the messy bib, the spoon and the empty jar of baby food and disappears into the kitchen, leaving Kim to continue entertaining the baby with the bubbles. Jay is no longer in the kitchen; he must be upstairs watching television. She tosses the jar into the trash, rinses the spoon and places it in the dishwasher and then holds the bib and climbs the stairs. Walking into the nursery, she goes into her closet and drops the bib into the hamper. After realizing the hamper is full, she decides to do a load of laundry, lifting the hamper and turning around; she jumps when she spots her husband, dressed comfortably in his pajamas. Halstead takes the hamper from her and leads her towards the washing machine, "So," he opens the lid, "I got an angry call from Olinsky; he's not too happy about some of the things you said to Lexi."

"What I said was the truth; she was irresponsible and careless. Someone had to tell her otherwise she would just do it again."

"I agree, but Olinsky thinks it could have been handled in a different way."

"Well when someone leaves his daughter locked in a hot car then he can speak on the subject," she retorts, closing the machine lid, "Until then I'm done talking about it."

"Erin-"'

"I said I'm done talking about it!"

Erin doesn't give him an opportunity to retort or argue, she storms down the stairs, leaving him to add in the infant detergent and start the machine. She walks into the kitchen, grabs the baby bottles and angrily shoves them into the sterilizer; she slams the lid on afterwards and pushes it into the microwave. After slamming the microwave door shut and hitting her fingers against the numbers, she waits and watches Kim carry the baby into the kitchen, concern etched upon her features, "I should be going," she approaches her friend, "Are you going to be alright?"

Lindsay scoops the baby from her arms, "I'll be fine. I have to make a phone call that I don't want to make, but to preserve the peace, it needs to be done."

"They want you to apologize?"

"Yep," Erin mutters, positioning the baby on her hip.

"You don't have to apologize for everything Erin. You can apologize for what you truly feel sorry for, otherwise it wouldn't be a real apology." She considers her friend's advice when the microwave beeps and balancing the baby in one arm, she uses the other to take the sterilizer out of the microwave and set it upon the counter. Burgess leans forward and suddenly hugs her friend, "It'll be alright. You got this. If you need me just text or call me. I should get going, it's mine and Adam's date night and he finally got us reservations at this fancy restaurant."

"Consider me jealous," Erin jokingly declares, "I haven't had a date in months."

"…maybe you should start looking into having one."

"I need to start looking into babysitters first and I'm actually considering hiring Annie back, especially since my village seems to be full of nuts."

Burgess backs away towards the front door laughing, "I won't take it personal. See you!" She waves farewell before departing. Erin remains standing in the kitchen, questioning what to do now that she's mad at her husband and her friend had just left. She stands in the center of her kitchen, baby in arm and thinking to herself until Jay yells out from upstairs, "Erin!" She doesn't respond and he continues, "Are you coming upstairs?"

"Leave me alone," she said through gritted teeth, walking back into the living room.

Carrying the baby on her hip as she enters the living room she stoops low to pick up the remote and turn on the television, flipping through channels until she finds cartoons. Erin takes a seat on the floor and sets the baby next to her. The infant's eyes are on the television; her orbs are lying upon her mother. Erin can see herself; she's thinking of the important things in life and holding a grudge isn't one of them. She needed to let it go. Her baby was safe, smiling and had no recollection of what occurred today; if Haven can forget it, so can she. Lindsay watches the baby sit; she's sitting for a longer period of time than last time. By leaning forward, resting on her arms for support, she's able to sit upright for a few seconds longer before tumbling over. She lifts her up while the baby giggles and Erin's face begins to scrunch up. She gets an unwanted and unexpected whiff of the baby's diaper and the expression that crosses her face, entertains the baby. Rising to her feet, Erin puts the baby on her hip and heads towards the front door, "Let's get your diaper bag you stinky girl," she whispers, lifting the bag before heading back into the living room, "How can someone so small and cute emit something so foul?"

After laying the baby down onto her back, she begins unbuttoning the onesie, downright nervous and hesitant about what she shall find. The little girl's eyes are on the television and she's completely unaware that her diaper is even being changed. She giggles at the animated characters singing a tune. Erin pulls the onesie over the baby's arms and legs, leaving her dressed in only her full and smelly diaper. The baby starts giggling and squealing as the characters on the television dance around and sing a made-up song. By the time Erin finishes changing the diaper, she realizes that the baby is engrossed in the show, only averting her eyes away when her short attention span kicks in. Lindsay stands, leaving the child lying on her back with a fresh diaper on, and walks a few feet to dump the diaper in the trashcan. When she returns, she crawls next to her baby and lifts the infant up, lying Haven's bare chest against her clothed one, "Ouch, that's mommy's hair," she untangles the baby's small hand from around the strands of her hair, "mommy's hair doesn't go in your mouth. Thank you," she slides it out of her grip.

She angles the baby in her arms to turn to face the television, watching the cartoon continue to sing and dance around. Haven is no longer paying attention though; she's finding herself tired and exhausted. As she does her nightly routine of fighting sleep, she begins sucking and gnawing upon her hand while her head looks up on her mom's chest; Erin peers down and pecks the baby's nose, "I know every mom has said this but I think you're absolutely the cutest baby ever," she leans forward and pecks another kiss, "and you know everything that mommy does is for you and daddy. I do it because I love you and I want to protect you," she watches the baby's eyes close for a few seconds before reopening, "You'll find I can be very hotheaded and passionate when it comes to the people I love. I'm quick to react. And I reacted pretty quickly today. Your mom's not perfect," she continues to watch the baby succumb to the battle against sleep, "I'm far from it actually, but it doesn't mean I don't try to be for you. Sometimes we have to be the bigger person and sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do, but if it's for the best…then it has to be done." Erin grabs the remote and turns off the television before maneuvering the baby in her arms, positioning her sleeping form against her chest and rubbing her hand over Haven's bareback. As Lindsay walks towards her phone, she feels the baby's head rest in the crook of her neck and her small breaths blow against Erin's flesh, reminding her of what she needs to do. She grabs her phone off the dining room table, hesitates and sighs before dialing Lexi's number.

Halstead released a loud sigh after flopping down onto their bed. Closing his eyes shut for a moment, he tried to clear his head and forget about the day they had. Erin paid a visit to Tyler, an officer was killed, they caught his killer and his daughter was accidentally locked in the backseat of Lexi's car. Today, they couldn't catch a break at all. Choosing to be the calmer of the two, he struggled trying to keep a leveled head while his wife was angry. Lying out in the middle of his bed, he hears his wife barge into the room and cracking one eye open he watches her walk over and take a seat at the edge of the bed, "Are you calm?"

She extends a beer to him before taking a swig of her own, "I think…maybe," she takes another swig of her beverage, "Ugh, I'm calm. I'm definitely not as upset as I was earlier."

Jay sits up, and leans against the headboard of their bed, "It's been a long day," he takes a sip of his beer as his other hand ruffles through his hair, "and you probably should apologize to Lexi."

"I already did," she groans, undressing out of her work clothes, "I sucked up the nerve and did it. I only apologized for some of the things I said though, not all. Some stuff had to be said, especially if she'll be watching other babies in the future –not mine, but others. I scared her enough to keep her focused. I put the kiddo down in her crib," she handed him her bottle of beer, then took her hair down before climbing next to him in bed. She rested her head against his shoulder and tugged the blanket over her body, "Thanks," she was handed back her beer and took a swig, "I keep thinking about what could have happened, you know? And I'm not just talking about with Haven; I'm talking about with work. Days like today can really put everything into perspective. Life's so short and we shouldn't take anything or anyone for granted."

"I've never been so scared in my life because…because…"

"Because of me," she fills in and after setting his empty beer bottle down onto his nightstand he turns to look at her, urging her to continue, "I love you with every beat of my heart and with every ounce of my being. And I know you love me too and it's because of that love that terrifies us, especially when we're running towards danger. We don't always know whether or not we'll return home, return to our daughter and that scares you. I understand because it scares me too," she intertwines her hand with his, "And this thing, this relationship, this marriage is something that's going to last a really long time at least I hope it does because it means everything to me and to think that all of this could have been gone just like that," she snaps her fingers to enunciate her point, "is frightening."

"I don't like thinking about it."

"That doesn't make it any less true," her voice falters and her shaky hand holds the beer bottle up to her mouth, "I can't even imagine what Officer Tanner's wife is going through right now, or his kids," she drinks the remainder of her beer and slams the glass down onto the nightstand, "What we have means everything to me," her voice is low and she brings her face towards his, ghosting her lips over his own and as she talks, they unintentionally brush against his, "You mean everything to me. Our daughter means everything to me. And if something were to happen to one of you, I wouldn't know what to do."

Jay gazed into her eyes, reveling in the emotions seeping out of her. His hand cups the side of her cheek and his thumb brushes the escaped tear below her eye. He pulled her towards him so she was straddling his lap, one of her legs bent comfortably on each side of him. And Jay cups her face, leans in and presses his lips against hers, sighing into the kiss before drawing back; his hands remain and his thumbs run gently over the dimples in her cheeks, "If someone told me years ago that I would end up married to my best friend, I don't know if I would have believed them," he squeezed his eyes shut and sighed, "If someone told me that I would be this happy and this content with life, I don't know if I would have believed them," his hands are no longer caressing her face; his hands are now making its way up her nightshirt. Her abdominal muscles contracted under his touch and her breath sucked in when his cold fingers mindlessly traced a pattern over her skin, "I haven't had many serious relationships. I've never met someone I could see myself spending the rest of my life with, see myself having a kid with until you. I was never the long-term relationship type, never the settle down type and I personally never thought I was even the type of guy to love someone as much as I love you," his fingers trace over the scar on her stomach, "And now here I am, completely, madly and vulnerably in love with you."

A smile broke across Erin's face, "Same," she grips beneath his chin and tilts his head up, "so same babe," she presses her lips against his as his arms wrap around her body. He rolls her over and discards the barrier of clothing separating their bodies and preventing them from making amorous, passionate love.


	6. Six Months

Awake, but her eyes remain close, she carefully rolls from one side to the other, turning in the direction of her husband. And when she opened her eyes, she realized her face rested mere inches from his. Her eyes scan his face, observing his features that appeared to be much softer and relaxed than when he's awake. Jay looked at peace; his light snores being the only sound within their bedroom as his chest rises and falls with each breath. His unconsciousness was filled with splendid dreams that remain unknown to the conscious world. Both are warm under the duvet and she curls into him, resting her head against his shoulder as she watches his heavy slumber. She peers down at the serenity covering his face and she doesn't want to wake him, but today is a special day and it is approaching noon; they've slept in long enough.

Erin leans forward and lightly kisses his lips; she runs her hand down the side of his face as her lips move against his. Her hand trails down his neck, then his arm before settling on his upper thigh. She deepens the kiss and her eyes open when she realizes that he's awake –kissing her back. Her eyes drift shut again and the kiss grows more intense. Warm lips move against each other, soft tongues twirled in a rhythmic dance and his hands encircled her waist, drawing her in closer and pulling her on top of him. She grinned without separating from the kiss. She ran her left hand through her hair, pushing it all to the right side of her head to provide her husband with better access to her neck. The kisses on her neck trail back up to her face and his lips seal itself against hers once again resuming the hot, passionate and sensual exchange. She grins –and her eyes fly open when he takes her by surprise and rolls over, ending up with his body lying halfway on top of hers with their legs tangled and intertwined together.

They chuckle before resuming their kiss, deepening it with each passing second. Her fingers tangle in his hair and she pulls him in closer. The kiss was full of energy; it turned vigorous and impatient and this day –this special day- made this present moment that much greater. He pressed his body up against hers; their lips never once separating as his hands desperately push up the shirt she's wearing. They're too impatient to waste time and take it completely off; he finds comfort and enough satisfaction in having it rest scrunched up above her waist. He softly kisses her and takes his time when peeling his lips away; he does pull away too much, his face hovers above hers and his finger gently toys with a strand of hair as his eyes peer down at her, taking in her features. He grins, presses his lips against hers once more before whispering, "Happy anniversary," he licks his lip as he takes in her wide smile, dimples piecing into her cheeks. And when she opens her mouth to utter back the same sentiment, they hear the babbles and whines of a recently awakened baby through the monitor. As a result, Erin releases a deep breath and feels her husband's head fall forward and rest in the crook of her neck, "Happy anniversary to you too," she whispers, feeling his lips ghost over her pulse. She presses her hands against his chest, pouting dramatically as she pushes him back; she hears the baby's whines increase in volume, "You get her and I start breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan," he responds, rolling over onto his side.

Lindsay sat up; her hair disheveled and her face flushed. She crawls out of the bed and walks on her bare feet over to her husband as he stands. Erin grins, presses her chest against his as she reaches behind him to grab a pair of shorts, "You're such a tease."

She winks and turns around to head out of the room, only to be halted temporarily when his hand makes contact with her butt; she jumps and a small yelp escapes from her mouth. A forced grin stretches along her face as he walks pass her, pressing a quick kiss against her cheek before she's able to swat him away, "You're so lucky there's a six month old that needs you right now."

Jay takes a glance over his shoulder before disappearing into the nursery. Erin hangs back in the master bedroom, pulling the shorts on and tying the drawstring as she listens in on her partner, her best friend, her rock and most importantly her person and her husband. He's one of the only people who can calm her down when she's worked up, when she's pissed off and when she's drowning in her feelings. And in return, she's his anchor; she holds him down, supports him and has never given up on him. Erin leaves the bedroom and goes downstairs to start breakfast while he gets the baby. And when he walks into her room and approaches her crib, he finds her lying on her back, blanket kicked off and her hands wrapped around her right foot and bringing her toes into her mouth. She gnaws –and she releases her foot when she sees her dad, peering down at her with a smile stretched a mile wide. She gives one in return, only hers draw out deep dimples into both of her cheeks and reveals two, fully grown in baby teeth at the bottom of her gums.

Watching her, he talks to her as he remembers his first father's day; it reminds him of why they celebrated last Sunday. She was his reason; she gave purpose to the holiday for him. That was his first father's day and to return the favor of such a relaxing mother's day, Erin allowed him to sleep in and greeted him with breakfast the second he woke up. She had used Haven to make a finger-painting picture sporting the cliché words of world's greatest dad; the picture is hung up by a magnet on the fridge and the picture of Erin using Haven's tiny fingers to paint the picture is framed and positioned on an end table in the living room. She had gifted him with a t-shirt that matched her shirt and a new onesie Haven had received the same day –it was a Cubs jersey and on the back of their jerseys read their last names with Jay give the number 01, Erin having 02 and Haven sporting 03. It was the order in which they officially became Halsteads. His best –and only- father's day ended with a massage and his favorite meal cooked by one of his favorite girls.

Halstead breaks his train of thought when he hears his daughter grow antsy and impatient. She's waiting to be picked up and before she can whine any further, he lifts her into his arms. Easing her into a face-to-face hold, he places one hand behind her head and neck while the other rests upon her bottom. He holds the baby out in front of him, just below his chest as his eyes gaze at her content expression. Jay takes in how adorable she is and how much of her mom she resembles. Haven had really started to grow into her looks more; she still only had a few strands of hair, turning more blonde and she has a beauty mark, just below her left eye. While she has his eyes and ears, she'll definitely grow up to be a replica of her mother –not that he minds. He continues holding her in a face-to-face hold and leans forward to press a kiss against her nose, "if only you knew how much you meant to me," he maneuvers her around in his arms.

Jay sets her back against his chest, keeping one arm beneath her bottom and the other across her chest. In this position, she can see her surroundings. And after ensuring that she's safe and secured, he walks out of the room, taking the stairs one by one and hearing his wife's frustrated voice grow louder, "Why did we start babyproofing the house Jay?" She yanks upon the bottom cabinets, "I need to get a pan! The freaking cabinets are so tricky," he smirks, watching her struggle to yank and pull at the handle, "this isn't funny," she chuckles, watching him smile, "I feel like this isn't just babyproofing, I feel like it's adultproofing too."

Balancing the baby in his arms, he walks over and easily opens the cabinet, earning an eye roll and a chuckle from his wife. She extends a warm bottle towards him, "You just got lucky."

"If that's what helps you sleep at night…" He takes the bottle and then sits at the table, leaning his daughter in the crook of his bent arm to feed her. The bottle is held up at an angle to give her better access, and her small hand rests upon the side of the bottle, but his hand is what actually hold it up. She stares at him with every sip she takes; her eyes peer into his identical orbs, matching hers and reminding him of that innocence that are within them. Her hazel eyes held purity; they were untainted and he wanted to keep them that way for as long as possible.

Erin pulls out each ingredient to whip up homemade pancakes from scratch. Although no one makes them like Jay, she was willing to try on this special occasion. She mixes the ingredients into a large glass bowl, chuckling to herself when she hears a baby's burp. Peering over her shoulder, she sees her husband patting the baby's back as he walks her over and sets her in her bouncer. She turns back to her ingredients and combines the wet with the dry, mixing it all into the bowl together as her husband pulls the bouncer into the room, setting it down within their line of vision. She watches her daughter, completely distracted from cooking breakfast as she watches her active and alert six month old bouncing in her bouncer and reaching for the variety of colorful toys attached to the bouncer. Erin takes in the innocent smile plastered on her daughter's face as she struggles to concentrate on one toy at a time. Her hands are flying everywhere and picking at everything, wanting desperately to put whatever she can in her mouth. Haven giggles, watching as her small palms beat against the toys attached to her bouncer. Turning back to face her ingredients, she continues stirring the spoon around the bowl. The smile on Erin's face stretches wider when she feels her husband approach, pressing his body against hers as his arms wrap around her waist; he inhales her scent before pressing a kiss against the base of her neck. He loves her. She loves him. She lets the spoon go and raises her left hand in the air to gaze at her wedding ring, "Seven years."

"And forever more…" he pecks another kiss against her neck and then another before his lips begin moving ardently against her flesh. She bends her right arm back and sets it against the back of his head while he continues. Her hand drops and she pushes the bowl further away before turning around in his arms. His hands grip the edge of the countertop and he boxes her in, pressing a lingering kiss onto the corner of her mouth. He couldn't keep his hands off of her. And it appears to be the same for her as she raises one of her hands to caress the side of his face, leaning her forehead against his before their lips bridge together.

A small yelp is emitted when he suddenly takes her by the hips and lifts her up onto the counter. Wrapping her legs around his waist and pressing her body against his, she smirks before covering his mouth with her own. His hands slide beneath her shirt, tugging at the corners and the kiss suddenly and abruptly ends when they hear one of the baby's toys playing an instrumental tune, reminding them of their baby bouncing in the toy a few feet away. Erin peers over her husband's shoulder, smiling down at the infant as she distractedly hits against the large, bright toy buttons emitting a variety of sounds. Her forehead falls forward, relaxing on his shoulder and she releases a deep breath, "Happy anniversary," she sighs, patting his chest to gently push him away. Erin slides off the countertop and resumes preparing the pancakes, "What should we do today?" She prepares the pan as Jay stands next to her, cutting up the fruit.

"We should go swimming."

"And then?"

"Millennium Park," he answers, watching his wife pour pancake batter into the pan, creating several medium-sized pancakes.

Erin looks over her own shoulder, spotting the baby continuously beat against the colorful toys and smiles, "I think she'll like that."

"I'm hoping we like it too."

She turns back to face him, extending her hand to lift his up, "If I'm with you, I'll like it."

Jay leans forward and presses a chaste kiss against her lips once again. And when he pulls away moments later, she sighs and pouts at the loss of contact. Erin lifts a spatula and flips the cakes over as her husband disappears into the living room. His eyes scan the couch cushions and the end tables for the television remote when he sees it, a gift basket on the coffee table, "Babe."

"Yeah," she flips the last pancake over and turns the heat down.

"Uh, come into the living room."

She wipes her hands against the large shirt she's wearing as she walks into the living room. Her eyes cast downwards as she dries her palms against the cotton fabric of the shirt. When she looks back up, her husband is staring at her while pointing at a present on the table. She rolls her eyes and approaches, "I thought we agreed not to give each other gifts."

"I didn't get this," he rips off the card taped to the outside of the basket and skims the writing, "It's from Burgess and Ruzek."

Erin takes the card from him and reads it herself, "How many times do I have to tell her that key is for emergencies only? We didn't even hear them come inside."

"It's an anniversary gift," he pulls at the drawstring tying the gift basket close in order to open it up and look inside; before reaching inside, Jay looks up at his wife, "the food…"

Lindsay nods before disappearing into the kitchen to turn off the stove. And when she reappears, she's holding the baby against her hip. Sliding the infant onto her lap as she flops down onto the couch, she scoots forward to take a better look at the gift. Erin leans forward and pulls out one of the items, "Aw Jay, look at this," she turns it around for him to see. It's gripped securely in her hands but the baby on her lap tries to grab it. She wants everything within sight. She lunges forward and tries to grab the drawstring ribbon on the edge of the table; she succeeds.

He takes the photo from her, "I didn't even know this picture existed." It's a black and white framed photo of the second Erin and Jay kissed on their wedding day after declaring their I do's. Jay sets it down onto the coffee table and notices the baby gnawing upon the ribbon, "Thank you," he slides it out of the infant's hands and instead of getting upset, she attempts to reach for the next item in her line of sight.

Jay pauses from opening their gift in order to grab the baby's blanket. He opens it up and spreads it out on the floor before lifting the baby off his wife's lap and sitting her down. She sits without support. She holds her head up without support. She holds her feet and giggles as she watches her parents smile at her. Six month olds are so alert; it's bittersweet that she's growing up so fast. Already half a year and she's taking the world on. Haven continues holding her feet and unintentionally pulls off her socks. She grips the yellow sock in her hand and brings it to her mouth, gnawing and biting upon the cotton. Erin and Jay resume to taking out their gifts and he pulls out the next –a set of matching mugs. Erin reads it after he takes a seat next to her, "This is cute; one says Mr. Right and the other says Mrs. Always Right."

"And this," she reaches into the basket next and pulls out a set of coasters, "Jay, it says Mr. and Mrs. Halstead on each one of them. They're couple-themed gifts. Sweet."

He pulls out the next and it's another photo, "When did she take this?" They peer down at the second black and white framed photo of them and Haven taken at Kim's birthday party last week, "I didn't even see her take one picture. You have one sneaky friend."

"It's one of the reasons why she's the best."

Reaching into the gift basket next, without even looking, Erin already knew what the last present was by the shape. She smirked and withdrew the bottle of wine, reading the name and year before showing her husband, "I love that woman." She brings the bottle in close to her. It was the same brand and year of wine she allowed Kim to open up and drink last year. It was the kind she was saving for a special occasion, and the same kind she wish she could take a sip of but couldn't due to her pregnant state at the time. Burgess and Ruzek bought them another bottle and she gleefully sets it down beside the coasters. Leaving the anniversary presents on top of the coffee table and Jay crawling onto the floor to play with the baby, Erin disappears into the kitchen. She grabs two plates from the top cabinet and begins stacking the pancakes on top of them, "Jay," Erin calls out, bringing the plates to the table, "the pancakes are served right up. Come get them while they're warm!"

Jay returns to the kitchen, baby on his right hip, while she steadily supports her own head, looking around with curious eyes as her hand rests in her mouth. The baby's head is facing outward, she watches her mom set the food down, grab utensils and syrup. The arm of Jay's holding hip supports Haven's back and legs. Her bare feet dangle; since the start of summer, she rarely wears socks and shoes. Even during the winter, the only time shoes were on her feet was when she was outside. Since she's unable to walk, they've felt no use in covering her little toes.

Erin pulls out her seat, and scoops the baby from her husband's arm when Jay leans over to pass her off. She sits the infant on her knee, wraps her arm around her waist and uses her free hand to hold the fork sideways and cut into her pancakes, "We should call and thank Kim and Adam," she informs, pushing her plate towards Jay so he's able to pour syrup onto her pancakes.

"I'll put them on speaker," he replies, pulling his phone out and dialing their friends; he takes her plate after chuckling at her attempt to cut into her pancakes with one hand, "I got this."

"Dude," Adam's chipper voice rings out, "do you remember that hot chick we saw when-"

"You're on speaker," Jay interrupts, earning a raised brow from Erin.

She takes her plate from Halstead the second he finishes cutting her pancakes, "No Adam, continue…what about this hot chick?"

"It's not important."

"It sounded important."

"Uh," Adam says, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "Jay, a little help here please. She's your wife." Erin looked up to meet her husband's eyes; she smirked.

"There…there was this…this chick," Halstead stuttered, earning a chuckle from Adam.

"A hot chick," Erin repeated Ruzek's earlier description.

"Yeah, I guess, not really my type though," He replied, eyes cast downward as he paid extra attention to himself cutting into his pancakes, "well, we met her a few days ago when me, Mouse, Ruzek and Atwater took Haven hiking, Mouse had her strapped to his chest and she flirted with him a bit, finding it attractive when an apparent single dad and his kid spend quality time together. She joined us on the hike and by the end Mouse asked her out. She said yeah."

"Well," Ruzek piped up, ready to give his friends the update, "apparently, Mouse forgot to tell her that Haven wasn't his kid. They're going on their second date soon and he still hasn't told her. She wants Haven to join them on their date," he laughed, "So don't be surprised if Mouse comes over and hijacks your daughter."

Erin meets Jay's eyes and shakes her head, "He's not using my kid to get laid."

"He keeps trying to break it to her," Adam defended.

"Trying?" Lindsay laughs, "It's not that hard. All he has to say is…wait. What's her name?"

Ruzek shrugs, pressing the phone closer to his ear, "I just call her the hot chick."

"Can't you call her something more respectable? She's a girl, not a temperature," Erin scolded, before returning back to what she was about to say, "Anyway, all Mouse has to say is, Brittany, there was some miscommunication, Haven isn't really my kid. She's more of a niece."

"Who is Brittany?"

Erin rolled her eyes at her husband's follow-up question, "That's all you took from that?"

Adam speaks up, "No seriously, I'm with Jay on this. Who is Brittany?"

"I just gave her any name so I don't have to refer to her as a hot chick. That's more degrading."

Jay scratched the back of his head, "But, why Brittany?"

"We're getting off track. We didn't call for this reason. Ruzek, the next time you speak to Mouse let him know that a relationship built on lies won't work and tell him to come clean. Also," she finally takes a bite of her warm pancakes, noticing her daughter's eyes watching her chew, "get Burgess and place us on speaker."

Haven continues to watch her mother stick her fork into her pancakes and lifting up to bite. She turns her head and watches her dad do the same. Haven leans forward, taking her opened palm and pressing it against one of the pancakes. Her hand clenches around it and when she brings it towards her mouth, Erin stops her, "Thanks babe." She opens her daughter's sticky palm and takes the crumpled up pancake out of it, "Sorry boo, but you can't eat this yet."

"What's up guys?" Kim's voice rings through the speaker of the phone.

The six month old sparks up, her eyes going wide as the voice she hears is recognizable. She looks over towards the direction of the phone but doesn't see the face belonging to the voice. Her head turns back in the direction of her mother and Erin is peering down amusedly at her confused daughter, "Oh my goodness Kim, if you were here, you would have died!"

"Would it have been a good death?"

"You would have died happily," Erin corrects, setting her fork down and shifting her daughter to her opposite leg, "When your voice came through the phone, guess who was looking for you?"

Burgess squealed, "Stop!"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Haven knows who I am!"

"I wouldn't say that," Erin chuckles, remembering Kim and Haven's time together yesterday, "she recognizes your voice like she recognizes the voice of her morning cartoons."

"Are you comparing my voice to an animated character?"

"No, it's just she hasn't started recognizing faces yet," Lindsay clarifies, using her opposite hand to eat, "And I'm perfectly okay with that. I'm not looking forward to when she starts experiencing stranger anxiety. I like when everyone comes over and wants to hold her."

"And that's why I make it my mission to come over a few times a week so when she starts remembering faces, when she experiences stranger anxiety, it won't be against me."

This conversation immediately reminds Erin of the reason why they made this call. She takes her last bite of pancake; her mouth full, yet she still talks, "Speaking of making it your mission to come over, we saw you and Ruzek's gift and we called to say thank you."

"Yeah, thanks guys!" Jay announced, watching as Haven attempts to reach for the salt and pepper shakers sitting in the middle of the table. He laughs as Erin pushes them further back, only for Haven to direct her attention towards her mother's used fork, lunging towards it, and accidentally knocking it to the ground.

Frustrated, Erin sighs and leans over to pick up the fork from the floor. She hears their friends wish them a happy anniversary as she brings the baby bouncer towards the table and carefully places the active infant inside. She focuses back in on the conversation, now relaxed knowing her daughter is strapped in and focused on the bright colored toys around her. Erin lifts up her plate and grabs her husband's empty one, "Not that I don't appreciate the present, but what did I say about the spare key?"

"It's for emergencies only, I know I know," Kim shrugged it off, sensing the smirk on Erin's face; "I figured we would get a pass since you know, we brought you a present."

"I guess I can let it slide this time."

The conversation eventually reached its end as Erin began washing the used dishes in the sink, before placing them in the dishwasher. When the phone call ends, Jay stands up and approaches his wife, his hands wrap around her shoulders and she sighs as he applies pressure, "That feels really good," she whispers, shutting the faucet water off. The gentle motion against her muscles causes for a release of pent up tension; the pressure isn't extreme, it's firm and strong. His fingers press against the area of her neck where the base of her head meets her neck –a light pressure is applied. He loosens it as his hands move along to the base of her neck, kneading her thumbs into the tight muscles. She releases a sigh of relief, "That feels so good." He leans forward to press a light kiss to the side of her neck before immediately drawing back.

Erin dries her hands against the bottom of her shirt before turning around to face her husband. With her head tilted to the side and her back leant against the sink, she questioned, "Why'd you stop? Why'd you pull away so fast?"

"…the kid is over there," his head nodded in the direction of the six month old distractedly squealing and playing with her toys.

She titled her head as she considered his words before shaking them out of her head, "She's not paying us any attention."

"She's in the house."

"She's always in the house," Erin raises a brow and flirtatiously smirks, "I'm not saying lets have sex in the kitchen, but kissing is okay. You didn't seem to mind it an hour ago."

"I didn't realize how perceptive she was an hour ago."

"She's perceptive, but not THAT perceptive. Look at her," she points out, "she's playing with her toys. She's not even thinking about us right now. Her mind is trying to figure out how to get that toy," she points to the green toy connected to her bouncer, "in her mouth."

Jay shakes his head, "You said it yourself; she's starting to recognize voices Erin."

A stretched grin spreads across Erin's face; she takes a hold of her husband's hand and tugs him in the direction of the hallway, out of her daughter's sight, but close enough to look over and see her if needed. She pressed her hand against Jay's chest and rises to her toes to press a kiss against his lips, "Is that better?"

"Much," he beamed, gripping the bottom of her shirt before hesitating, "Wait," he releases her shirt, "She can hear us."

"I was in your bed this morning," Erin reminded, biting down upon her bottom lip, "I've been in your bed almost every morning and night for seven years and for the last six months. She hasn't complained."

"…because she can't talk."

"We're not loud," she defends, taking a step back. Appearing offended at the implication that she doesn't care what her daughter hears, she crosses her arms over her chest and walks back into the kitchen, "It's alright if we kiss. It's fine if we give each other massages. If the baby monitor isn't in our bedroom, we wouldn't be able to hear her cry and you and I both know that her cries are loud. I highly doubt she can hear us when we're…you know, especially when her door is closed," Erin walks over to the bouncer, and before she's able to lift the baby, Jay wraps his arm around her wrist, pulling her back towards him.

"You're right."

She smiles, "That's music to my ears."

His hands lightly press against her jawline with his thumbs softly rubbing along her flesh. He tilts his head and brings his mouth in to press a kiss against her chin. He draws back before bringing another kiss in to press it against her bottom lip; he draws away again before coming back in and pressing his lips firmly against hers. With her lips still pressed against his, she whispers, "She's watching."

He draws back, rubbing the back of his neck before walking towards the stairs, "We should start getting ready to go swimming." Erin silently nods, smiling from ear to ear as she scoops the baby up from her bouncer, smearing a kiss against her squeezable cheeks before carrying her upstairs.

As the baby gets older and grows bigger, Erin finds it harder and harder to change her. She's always squirming, kicking and flinging her arms everywhere to entertain herself. Eventually though, Erin is able to get the swimsuit on after changing her into a swimming diaper; the bathing suit is a white and cherry patterned onesie swimsuit with a matching romper. The little, attached skirt was absolutely adorable on her. With her bare feet kicking into the air, Erin grins, reaching into the dresser to pull out a sunhat. Erin knows it won't last long on her head because she has the inclination to pull off all her hats and socks no matter how many times one of them would put it back on her.

While lying on her back, the baby grabs her feet, babbling and squealing as she watches her mother pack up her diaper bag. Grabbing an extra onesie, her hooded lion towel and a few other necessities –baby sunscreen, wipes and a few spare diapers- she places them inside of the bag. After hearing Jay enter, dressed in his swimming trunks and a t-shirt, he carries in the empty car seat, "Ready to switch?"

"Definitely," Erin swaps positions with her husband; she disappears into her bedroom to get ready. Jay approaches the six month old and cracks a face, before lifting her into his arms. He raises her above his head before bringing her down to gnaw upon her cheeks. She giggles with her mouth wide open and laughing loudly.

Jay lowers her down into the car seat, securely strapping the happy baby inside as she calms from her loud and heartfelt giggles. Erin reappears, wearing her bikini beneath her white shorts and black tank top. Walking into the room with her black flip flops, she's tying her hair up into a lose ponytail. He lifts the handle of the car seat and sets it down on top of the dresser, "Hi baby," Erin greets, unclipping her sunglasses from her tank top, opening them and placing the large shades onto her baby's face. The sunglasses are larger than her head. With the baby's mouth in a wide open grin, her small hand reaches up to grab the sunglasses covering her eyes. Before she's able to pull them off completely, Erin uses her cell to snap a photo of the baby wearing the sunglasses crookedly on her face. Lindsay removes the shades and sets them on her head, covering her eyes before lifting the handle of the car seat and following her husband out of the house as he carries the six month old's diaper bag.

When the small family arrives to the swimming pool, they suddenly find themselves more excited at the idea of taking their daughter for a swim on their anniversary. The sun was warm, beaming down upon them as Jay holds the alert baby against him as he followed behind his wife. Jay notices his daughter grinning as she excitedly looks around, taking in all of the colors and the movement around her. Approaching the only two empty pool chairs, she sets down their belongings as Jay hands over the baby to go and retrieve them two towels. Haven is sitting upon her mom's lap, playing distractedly with the bottle in Erin's hand. She applies the baby sunscreen against Haven's skin, the little girl watching every rub down her mother does against her flesh.

Jay returns once she's finished. The two had already put on sunscreen before leaving the house. He kicks off his flip flops and pulls off his shirt. Standing in front of his wife, and lifting the little girl from her lap so Erin can start taking off her clothes. Haven remains alert. She's laying against her dad's bare chest, peering over his shoulder at all of the adults and kids playing in the outside pool. He slides her hat off and tosses it onto their chair, "I think she's excited."

"I hope so," Lindsay replies, laying her shorts down before tugging off her tank top, "Natalie says just be careful with getting too much water in her face. Kids have a tendency to splash regardless of babies being around them."

"Protect baby's face," Jay nods, "Got it."

As her tank top was set upon her shorts, her eyes glanced downward, staring at the permanent scar on her stomach. She shakes the memory out of her head and finds herself struggling to focus on something else. This is the first time she's showing the scar to the world. Normally, it's just Jay who sees it, but now, everyone is privy to it. Her fingers ghost over it, feeling the raw welt of puckered flesh, "It's beautiful."

She looks up to meet his eyes, removing her fingers from her scar, "I love you," she beams before scooping the baby from his arms. Erin sets the infant against her chest, Haven's chubby legs dangling, "Let's go in the water," she encourages, following her husband towards the pool stairs, smiling to herself when she notices the lifeguard on duty. At least if anything happens, he's here. Jay steps inside the pool first, "How does the water feel?"

He shrugs, "It feels fine; it's not too hot and it's not too cold."

Erin and Jay continue down the pool stairs before reaching the pool floor. She carefully lowers herself down into the water, watching it touch the baby's feet, her knees, and thighs before it reaches her tummy. Erin didn't want to shock the baby as she eases them further down. She holds the baby close, ensuring she's safe and secured in her protective arms, "Look at the pretty blue water," Erin's fingers tap the water as the baby stares.

"Havie look," Jay calls out in front of her, earning her attention. She looks at her dad, standing a few feet away; he dips into the water and comes back up directly in front of her. Haven grins, revealing her two bottom baby teeth. Erin carefully maneuvers the baby around; holding her hands beneath the six month old's armpits she turns the baby outwards, and double checking to make sure her head was safely above water. Lindsay feels the baby start to splash and giggle.

The water drips and hits against her mother's face, but Erin only finds it in herself to laugh. She moves towards the wall of the pool. She carefully swirls the baby around, providing her with the relaxing sensation of the water against her body. Haven's mouth is open as she laughs and splashes the water, Jay watching and joining in, but being mindful not to splash it in Erin or the baby's face. Eventually though, the baby's splashes land in her mouth and soaks her mother's face. Haven coughs and Jay takes her out of Erin's hands, "I got her, go ahead and wipe your face," she grinned as he brought the baby up against his chest, patting her back until she finished coughing. Jay sits the baby against the edge of the pool, his hands wrapped around her waist as he watches his wife walk up the pool steps.

Haven lunges forward, wanting desperately to get back in. He obliges. He holds her, supporting the back of her head and butt as he lays her on top of the water; she's facing upward, but she frets the second she finds the position uncomfortable. He adjusts her and the second she starts splashing and giggling, he laughs along. Erin lifts the towel and dries her face, patting the fabric against her eyes. She runs the towel over her face and draws it away when she hears someone speak up, "Is it baby's first swim?"

Erin looks over her shoulder and chuckles, "Is it that obvious?"

A woman is leant back in her pool chair, watching her children play around in the water. When Erin responded, her eyes glanced in her direction, "Pretty much," she answers, before shifting to face Lindsay, "I understand completely. My kids are five and seven now and I remember their first swim like it was yesterday."

"She hasn't cried yet so that's a good sign."

The woman continues to watch her kids, focusing on every move they make and ready to get up at the sight of any type of danger. She only averts her eyes when she notices Erin set her towel down and stretch, spotting the healed incision along her lower stomach, "C-section scar?"

"Pardon?"

"Your C-section scar," she repeats, glancing at the lifeguard to ensure he's paying attention to the pool before turning to face Erin, "I have one too. I'm not brave enough to show it though," she nods down to her one-piece swimsuit, "I commend you for that."

"Wait. What?"

"I'm so self-conscious about my body; that's why I'm all covered up," the woman chuckles dryly, "Seeing yours though makes me realize that I shouldn't be ashamed of mine. It's our battle wound; the mark of bringing life into the world."

"This," Erin points to her scar embarrassingly, "isn't from a C-section."

"Oh I'm sorry."

"No, that's alright. How would you have known?" Erin shrugs, turning to take a glance at her husband and baby playing in the water, "You see a baby and then you see my scar that just so happens to be conveniently located where one would get a C-section."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened? Was it from surgery?"

"No, Tyler West."

The woman moves to the edge of her seat, "…the serial killer?"

"Bingo," Erin points at her.

"He did that?"

Erin nods, "I was his last target and he didn't want to kill a baby."

"So he tried to take yours out? I followed the story. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Erin approaches the woman, smiling kindly as her eyes glance over towards the pool, "Look at her; she's perfectly fine and healthy. That's all I can ask for. So no it's not a C-section scar because no baby came out of it; the police found me in time and I gave birth naturally with few complications."

The woman rises to her feet, "Well, it might not mean much coming from me –a stranger- but it's still our battle wound," she sets her hand upon Erin's shoulder, "it's still the mark of bringing life into the world. However, yours has so much more meaning."

"That's funny, because to me all I see is what he did and what he tried to do."

"But he failed," the woman reminded, "look at it as a mark of survival for you and your daughter. It's a reminder of what you could have lost but was strong enough to overcome."

Erin's gaze is directed forward, looking into the woman's brown eyes. She sees such kindness. She feels like she could trust this woman she only met a few minutes ago. She was motherly and comforting even though the two appeared to be around the same age. Erin gave her a grateful smile, "Thank you."

"No problem," the woman retakes her seat, "us mothers have to stick together."

Lindsay's gaze is directed back over at her husband and daughter when she hears their laughter. They're no longer in the same place she left them. Now, they're at the stairs; she rejoins them in the pool and takes a seat next to her husband. Holding the baby's hands, he stands her up in between his legs, her feet resting wobbly and unevenly on the stair as she bounces excitedly, "Erin! Babe, look at her!"

The squeals, laughter and babbling of her daughter rings out and fills their ears. The water on the second stair comes up to Haven's thighs and she enjoys the bounce, trusting her dad not to let go, she giggles even louder. Eventually though, Haven starts to tire out, growing cold and exhausted. The couple climbs the last step out of the water and heads back over to their chairs; she searches through the diaper bag and hands the hooded lion towel over to her husband. He wraps it around her and gently pulls the lion hood over her head, "My cute baby lion cub…" he coos, bringing her in to press a kiss against the side of her head. Erin hands Jay a bottle, meeting the woman's eyes and grinning as she watches Jay take a seat, adjust the baby lion in his arms before feeding her. Erin only gets distracted when the woman's two children run over and climb onto their mother's seat, "Mommy," the little girl whines and Lindsay smiles, imagining the day she hears that word spoken from her daughter's lips.

"Yes sweetie," the woman answers, pressing a kiss to the side of her daughter's brunette hair.

"I'm thirsty."

And without another word, the woman leans over into the cooler and withdraws a juice box, handing one to her daughter and another to her son. The two kids sit at the edge of the pool chair and drink their juices as they watch the other kids and adults play in the water. Erin was close to speaking up, making a comment to initiate another topic of conversation when the woman's phone rang; she answers, "Hey honey," she nods silently as she waits to respond to whoever is speaking, "I sent my resume out to a variety of locations. I've even given some to the kids' teachers. I also posted them on some of the mommy blogs too."

"Is that dad?" her son enthusiastically asked, bouncing in his seat.

The woman raises a finger, "Hold on sweetie," she focuses back on the conversation, "that was just your son. I'll give him the phone when we're done talking. Um…I'll still be watching the three year old boy, but the four year old girl I won't be watching her starting two weeks from now," Erin unintentionally listens in to the conversation, "I'll talk to some of the moms at the kids' school and see if they know anyone that needs any babysitters. And don't worry about the money, I'll find someone," she assures him calmly before holding the phone out to her son.

There's an internal debate going on within her. She wants to mention something to the woman, but she would also be mentioning that she happened to overhear. Jay hums to their daughter, completely oblivious to his wife's internal struggle. She's desperate and eager. Erin shrugs, clears her throat and steps towards her, "Hi," the woman looks up, "I just happened to overhear your conversation."

"Was I too loud?"

"No…not at all," Erin assures, before getting back on subject, "You're a babysitter?"

"I prefer nanny, even though I watch the children in my own home."

"And you're without work?"

The woman shakes her head, "I wouldn't say that. One of the kids I watch is turning five next week and is starting school in the fall so I'll be down to watching one kid. I'm looking for another so I'm passing my resume around."

"Your resume?" Erin casually crosses her arms, "You have experience watching kids?"

"I've been watching kids all my life. I have three younger siblings. I practically helped my dad raise them. I babysat all through high school and college. I have a bachelors and masters degree in nursing and childhood development. I've watched more kids than I can count before I had babies of my own. I watch them as young as eight weeks to when their parents decide to withdraw them, it's mostly done because they're starting school and joining after school programs. It's hard to compete with those after school programs."

"And how many do you normally watch at a time?" At this question, Jay looks up, finally interested and paying attention to his wife's conversation; he's confused, but he doesn't interrupt. He sets the empty bottle down beside him, sits the baby up on his lap and repeatedly pats her back; her eyes roaming around at all of the bright colors surrounding her.

"I found out two is my minimum and maximum. When I had kids of my own, I got a job at a hospital to bring in more money so I had to put my babies in daycare and I just…I just didn't like it. Kids are like clay. Everything they experience, everything they learn and everything they see, touch and smell molds them into who they will be in the future. Daycares watch too many kids and the workers seem overly exhausted; they're babysitters. They're paid to watch, feed, and change and do the bare necessities and that's okay. I just prefer to do more. I speak a second language and I talk to the babies in that. I do activities that exercise all parts of their brain. That's why I only watch two kids at a time so they can hold all of my attention."

"And you have references?" Now, Jay knew exactly where she was going with this.

"Yeah, why?"

Before answering with the truth, Erin looks over at her husband. Their eyes meet and through the silent conversation, she knows that he trusts her and he agrees with whatever decision she makes. Her eyes glanced down at the baby in his arms, his chin resting lightly against the top of her head; she smiles and turns back to the woman, "I've went through two babysitters and they didn't work out," she starts and the woman immediately knows where she's going with the conversation, "For the last month, my baby has been in daycare and the kids are too rough. One toddler scratched her, right here," Erin points underneath her own eye "I can't focus at work because I'm worried about the next kid and whether or not she'll get scratched again or bit. Jay, my husband," she clarifies, "would make sure our days off are opposite so one of us can stay home and watch her. When the team has a day off, they'll watch her. Basically, my village has been stepping up and helping a lot and I can't keep asking them to do that."

The woman smiles appreciatively, "I would love to watch your little one. We can set up an interview whenever; I'll bring my resume."

"How about right now?"

The woman quirks a brow, "For the interview?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'm fine with that."

"You already told us about your education and your experience in education, childhood development and nursing. And you speak a second language?"

"I do. I speak German and I rotate between it when watching the children."

"We're both detectives with crazy schedules."

"I've watched children of doctors before. If it's as crazy as those schedules, I'm the right girl."

"Some days we may have to drop her off at five in the morning while other days she'll be dropped off at eleven am. Depending on the case, we might be working overtime."

"I'm open 24 hours."

And this draws a smile onto Erin's face; she looks over her shoulder to meet Jay's eyes, "I like her. I like her a lot," she turns back to the woman, "I'll be running a criminal background check."

"I would be surprised if you didn't." The woman replies, glancing over when her son taps her to hand her back her phone; her husband had hung up, "I can also say that I'm a decent cook so I do prepare meals. I normally feed the babies once they come so you don't have to remember to feed her before she leaves the house. I prepare homemade baby food from scratch; it's a bit healthier."

"You're hired. You're so hired."

The woman extends her cell to Erin, "We can exchange numbers. I'm Emily and my kiddos over in the pool are Cole and Lacey."

"I'm Erin Lindsay," she introduces, saving her number in the woman's phone, "That's my husband Jay Halstead and that's our daughter Haven."

"Can I meet the little one?"

Jay stands, holding the baby against him before extending her towards the woman. She carefully takes Haven in her arms and like a professional; she cradles the baby in her hold, "Hi sweetpea," the baby's small hand wraps around two of her fingers, "Sehr erfreut Haven." Her German words rolled easily off her tongue and she looked over at the confused parents, "I told her it was nice to meet her," Haven grins as the woman looks back down at her, "I am looking forward to seeing you again," she feels the little girl's hand rest against the side of her face.

Haven likes her. She's smiling. Emily stands with the baby in her arms and hands her back over to her dad. The six month old gives Emily one last smile that warms the hearts of the adults around her, "I see she has two teeth."

"Yeah," Erin responds, watching her husband change the baby out of her swim diaper into a regular diaper, "It's been…interesting."

"Does she get cranky?"

"Definitely."

"I have a mommy tip; try getting a cold washcloth and dabbing her sensitive gums."

Jay changes the baby out of her damp bathing suit and into a onesie, "We'll definitely have to try that out the next time she gets fussy over her teeth coming in."

"That is a cute onesie," Emily chuckles, reading 'Hug Life' across the front of the baby's onesie.

Erin nods, "My best friend got that one. It's one of my favorites," Erin remarks, buttoning her shorts, "We should actually be getting going," she pulls the tank top over her head, "It's our anniversary and we're heading to Millennium Park next," the woman is holding the baby once again while they finish getting ready.

Haven's chuckles fill their ears as Emily plays peek-a-boo with the infant. Every time she reveals herself from behind her hands, Haven laughs louder. And Erin hates to break up the fun, but both she and Jay have finished getting ready, the towels were returned, and he's holding the diaper bag on his shoulder. Emily sees and stands up once more, "Happy anniversary," she hands the baby back to her mother, "and I know you're running a background check so give me a text or call when you both have made up your mind." Lindsay could already tell this was going to work out; they weren't friends which made the whole situation that much better. It was hard having a business relationship with someone who was your friend first.

Erin holds her baby's hand and uses it to wave at Emily. The woman waves back before returning her attention to her two children in the pool. It was a nice experience at the swimming pool, one that neither regrets and before the summer is over, they definitely make plans to return. During the ride to Millennium Park, the couple discussed Emily, both finding her trusting and experienced. If she passed the background check, then they officially found a babysitter. By the time they reach the park, the conversation was over, Emily was discussed, dinner ideas were debated and their next swimming day was planned. As they walk along the sidewalk, her hand in his while he holds the baby against his opposite side, on the opposite shoulder. The baby is facing and pressed against his chest with her arms draping over it. She isn't too heavy so he's able to carry her with one arm while his other pulls his wife in closer to his side. Erin snuggles closer as they spot an ice cream cart and without any words shared, they both head towards it.

Once they arrive, she releases his hand to approach, "Hi," she greets the server, "Can we have one chocolate raspberry and one cookies and cream ice cream…both on cones please," she orders, reaching into her pocket to withdraw the money.

Trading the money for the ice cream, she hands her husband his order before taking hers. The couple continues to walk around Millennium Park, the baby remaining on his shoulder, her eyes opened and alert and taking in the scenery and people as her parents walk and enjoy their ice cream. Eventually, the Halsteads find an empty bench and take a seat until they finish their sweet treat; he maneuvers the baby around, placing her onto his lap so she's able to have a front view. She giggles; watching older kids play and have fun near or around the Bean and her attention is only pulled away when Lindsay leans the ice cream cone towards her.

The baby doesn't know what to do with it. However, because she puts or tries to put everything in her mouth regardless of whether or not it's actual food, she parts her lips. Erin tilts the ice cream and dabs it against the baby's tongue. It's a small dab with only a few drops of ice cream settling on her tongue. However, it was the perfect amount and sent the already happy baby kicking her legs in excitement. Erin and Jay laugh, watching her continue to lick her lips and look around to resume observing people have a great time. She kicks her legs again. She babbles excitedly. Her arms flail and move around enthusiastically. As a result, they quickly finish up their ice cream before carrying the baby over to the fountain; she was getting restless and bored sitting on the sidelines and watching the other kids have fun.

Tourists, locals, kids, adults, and everyone you could think of are standing and playing in the fountain on such a hot summer day. Erin steps out of her flip-flops and into the fountain, she takes a seat on the edge as Jay hands her the kid; they had just left the pool and were now stepping back inside water. Halstead steps out of his flip-flops and does the same, sitting next to her on the edge as she dabs the baby's feet in the warm water. Haven is wide-eyed, amusement plastered all over her face as she watches all the children run barefoot around the fountain as their parents either joins in or watches. This time, they don't stay in the water that long. They sit for a few minutes until Haven's attention is directed towards a swarm of birds being fed by kids and their parents. Her short attention span has her wanting to focus on everyone and everything.

The parents step out of the fountain, slide back on their shoes before walking over to the birds and the man selling bird food. Jay buys a dollar's worth from the man and holds the crumbled food in one hand while taking the baby from his wife with the other. He stoops low near the birds, sets the baby on his knee with his hand pressed against her stomach, holding her up and flushing her back against his chest. Jay takes a few of the seeds, watching her watch him before throwing them towards the birds. She excitedly kicks her legs as she watches the birds swarm around the thrown food and eat it. Erin stoops down beside her husband, "You try Havie," she directs the baby's hand towards her husband's opened palm and when Haven naturally and curiously grips some of the seeds, instead of throwing or dropping it, she brings it towards her mouth, "No, no," Erin chuckles, knocking the seeds out of her hand.

"I feel like we better get used to saying that," Jay affirmed, tossing more seeds towards the birds, "We're going to be saying no and stop so many times that it'll probably be her first words."

Erin simply responds with the nod of her head as she continues helping her husband feed the birds. When they attempt to allow Haven to try again, she repeats her earlier act and they're forced to knock it out of her hand. Jay sprinkles the remainder of the bird food onto the ground and stands back up, "So that was a failure…" he laughs, wiping his hand against his swim shorts.

"Should we be getting home? I'm getting hungry."

Jay takes a hold of her hand and tugs her in the direction of the parking lot. They don't make it out of Millennium Park when a band starts to play at the Pavilion. She attempts to keep walking, but feels him tug her towards the direction of the music. Families and couples are either sitting on the grass or dancing to the music of the band. It's such a nice day, why not stay out a little longer and enjoy it? Kids are running around, playing with each other as their parents laugh and converse with one another. Holding his wife's hand while the baby leans against his chest in the other, they move closer towards the music; he speaks softly, but loud enough for her to hear, "This day, seven years ago," he pulls her to a stop, "I married my best friend. What would make this day perfect for me is if I can get this dance?"

She intertwines their fingers together, "What about the baby?" Her free hand rubs against the infant's back; Erin watches as she excitedly and alertly takes in her surroundings.

"She can join us," Jay remarks, pulling his wife into him and slowly dragging his arm down her hip before resting it behind her waist. The couple rocks and sways to the music. Her head against his chest as the baby continues looking over his shoulder, completely oblivious of her parents' romantic moment. His sway is comforting to the baby; she's beaming when she turns to find her mother just as close to her as her father.

Haven enjoys it. She especially enjoys it when her parents start singing along to the tune. She squeals, and kicks her little legs to show just how excited she is. Her small hand comes up to rest upon her dad's cheek as he continues to sing loudly. If she were older, she would be embarrassed. Those humiliating moments are yet to come. Haven babbles as she stares at her dad and eventually her eyes glanced down at her mother, leaning her head against his chest with her eyes closed while rocking along with her husband. Their side to side swaying sparks more giggles from Haven as she proceeds to lean her head against her dad's shoulder, staring at her mom with the biggest smile on her face, showing the dimples her parents love so much.

When the song reaches its end, the growls in their stomachs inform them that it's time to go. It was getting late and while they had a late brunch, they still needed to eat dinner. Maybe they'll close their night out with dinner, cuddled up on a couch and watching a movie. And by the time they arrive home, the sun is already starting to set. The warm air starts to turn into a cool chill as the sun slowly disappears. The baby falls asleep in her car seat and Jay carefully carries it up to their front door; it's locked and she unlocks it before pushing it open, "Home, sweet home," she drops the diaper bag and shuts the door behind her.

"Want me to start dinner while you give her a bath?" Jay asks, walking alongside his wife as they continue down the hallway.

"That won't be necessary."

At the sudden sound of a voice, Jay brings the car seat behind him, poking his head around the corner to take a peek into the living room. He rolled his eyes and glanced back at his wife, "Calm down, it's Voight."

"Your key is for emergencies," Erin reminded, storming into the living room, "The keys aren't to just stop by whenever you want. What if we were…" she awkwardly clears her throat, "doing something?"

"Doing something like what?"

"That's not important," Jay chimes in, setting the car seat down onto the table.

Voight approaches, "I only came over to give you two your anniversary gift."

"You didn't have to get us anything Hank."

He sets his hand against Erin's back, "It didn't cost any money…and I kind of get something out of it as well."

"Now I'm curious," she pulls a chair out and takes a seat. Her hands intertwined over her lap.

"I made you both reservations at the new restaurant that just opened two days ago."

Jay chimes in, "I thought that place was booked until next year."

"Yeah, well, I kept the owner's son out of trouble so he owed me a favor."

"We would love to go but," Erin sighs, unstrapping the awakened baby from her car seat, "we have Haven. I doubt it's appropriate for us to bring a six month old baby to a five star restaurant. We would probably get kicked out the second she gets fussy."

"…which is the part where I get something out of this. I'm going to watch her."

"Hank-"

Voight cuts her off, "I miss spending time with my granddaughter."

"You don't mind at all?" Jay questions, sighing in relief when Voight takes the baby from his wife's hold, "Thank you."

"Now go on upstairs and get ready; it's a suit and tie restaurant Jay," he informs, setting the infant against his hip, "I'll take this little one up, give her a nice warm bath and put her in some cozy pajamas before we have some fun."

A night of alone time was finally rewarded to them. It was exciting and a welcomed surprise. Erin showered first since it normally took her the longest to get ready. Jay showered after her and was still dressed and ready to go before her. By the time she finishes, climbing into her heels before meeting her husband at the bottom of the stairs, they find themselves thirty minutes away from missing their reservation. The red lace dress that clings to Erin's body matches the dark red lipstick and the black mascara on her eyes. Jay doesn't notice right away; he's occupied grabbing their coats from the closet and when he turns around, his jaw drops, "I was just going to say something, but I forgot when I looked at you."

She leans in and presses a kiss against his jaw, "You're such a sweet talker."

"And you're beautiful."

"Let's make the most of this night," she asserts, taking a hold of his hand; the couple pokes their head in the living room to find Voight lying on the couch with the baby sitting on his stomach, playing with some sort of new toy he must have brought with him. They don't want to disturb, Haven's so content with her grandfather, and quietly they back away, eventually leaving out of the front door. Hands intertwined, the couple eagerly walks to their car and only separate to hop inside and strap their bodies in, "I forgot how handsome you look in a suit," she flirts.

"And I forgot how beautiful you look in red," he replies, hand resting upon her thigh before squeezing against her flesh.

"Don't start something you can't finish Halstead."

He pulls his hand away, "I'm planning to finish later." Halstead focuses on the road as he pulls out of the parking spot and starts driving the short distance from their house to downtown Chicago. And by the time they pull up to the outside of the restaurant, she notices his hand is back, fingers trailing against her leg causing her to look up to meet his eyes, "I'm going to open your door for you so stay in the car."

"Such a gentleman," she chuckles, nodding as he hops out. Erin watches him jog around the car and approach her door, calmly opening it and extending his hand.

He pecks her hand, "Anything for my lady."

"You're really planning to get lucky tonight," she affirms, walking alongside him, hands intertwined towards the crowded restaurant.

"…just trying to keep the spark," he quips, opening the door and allowing his wife to enter first.

A hostess greets the couple as soon as they walk through the door. She takes their name, looks up their reservation and then tells them to follow her as she grabs two menus and leads them towards their seats. With their hands still intertwined, they walked through the beautifully decorated dining hall; chandeliers hung above, a pianist playing an unfamiliar instrumental on the piano and the lights were set to dim. They arrive to their table and thank their hostess. She nods before walking away to help the next reserved couple waiting at the front. Jay walks over to his wife's side of the table, helps her shimmy out of her coat before pulling her seat out; she smiles and sits, "I can get used to this."

Jay takes a seat across from her, "They have a dessert cart Erin! I bet each item separately costs something in the double-digits. This place is nice and proper. This place is fancy."

"This place is not us at all," Erin snickers, extending her hand across the table for her husband to grasp, "Have you ever pictured us eating at a place like this?"

"No, but it's nice to try something new."

Holding hands across the table and gazing into one another's eyes, they forget to look at the menu. The waiter walks over, ready to take their orders with a notepad in hand, "Hi, I'm Simon. Can I get you both something to drink?"

Smiling in embarrassment for being unprepared, Lindsay lifts the drink menu and begins to quickly scan it until she hears her husband clear his throat; he's looking at her and when she raises a brow he speaks up, "Take your time babe. No rush."

"Can I," her words come out in hesitation as she stalls to continue reading the drink menu, "Simon, I would like a glass of your Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc," she closes her drink menu and extends it towards the waiter. He doesn't write it down; he memorizes it as he turns to face her husband, waiting for his order. Erin doesn't even remember seeing Jay look at the menu; she remembers him watching her the whole time. And when he gives his drink order, requesting the same thing she said, she knows he never looked at it.

Simon lifts up Jay's menu and before he can turn to walk away, Erin extends her hand, wrapping it gently around his wrist to hold him in place. Her eyes still focused on her husband; Jay doesn't even notice the interaction between her and the waiter. He's too lost in her orbs. Erin smiles, continually holding the waiter's arm while staring at Jay, "Babe, you don't like white wine."

He blinks out of his gaze, and for the first time since the waiter came over, he looks at him, "Oh, um, scratch that. I just want a glass of scotch."

"Scotch, got it," Simon's wrist is released and he disappears to retrieve their drinks.

Since Jay is the designated driver of the night, his glass of scotch will be his only alcoholic beverage for today. He extends his hand, wanting some type of contact with his wife and she happily obliges. Resting her hand within his, she finds herself getting lost in his gaze and blushes when he compliments her, "That red dress on you," he sighs, "that red dress off of you. Our drinks haven't come yet; maybe we can cancel our order, head home, put the baby to sleep, kick Voight out and have some well-deserved adult fun."

"And Voight's effort in getting us this reservation…"

"Will be appreciated," he answered, giving her a wink of the eye, "without the reservation, you wouldn't have had a reason to put on that dress."

"Patience Mr. Halstead," she urges, sliding her feet out of her black heels, "it'll only make the reward that much greater," her foot slides up the side of his leg.

He draws back, "Don't start anything you can't finish." And she heeds his warning, drawing her foot away from his leg and her hand out of his hold, "That's my girl."

The couple lifts their menu and begins scanning the contents. Struggling to pronounce and interpret some of the words, they make eye contact and realize that they're both thinking the same thing –what the heck does any of this mean? Keeping her voice low so the surrounding tables do not hear her lack of comprehension, she whispers, "What is Cuisses de Grenouille?"

He shrugs, "I have no idea."

Leaning her back against the seat, she slams her menu closed, "Do you think the waiter will judge me if I order a burger?"

"Normally I would say no, but here," his eyes travel around; he takes in the elderly couples sporting expensive jewels, businessmen dining with much younger women and the occasional couples who appear to be in the same mindset as he and his wife, "I'd say you'll be judged."

"I don't care," she shrugs it off and reopens her menu, "I want a burger. And I don't even think they sale burgers. What kind of restaurant doesn't sale burgers Jay?" Halstead noticed the spark in his wife's eye when she got riled up; he loved it. She continued looking through the menu, struggling to translate some of the words on the page, "What are you getting?"

"I'll probably just randomly point at something on the menu."

"You're going to end up eating rabbit or frogs or something you don't eat."

"It's a first time for everything."

"Gross," she rolled her eyes before focusing back on the menu, "Hey, they have Crème Brûlée; I always hear that on the fancy cooking shows -Crème Brûlée."

He leans forward, "Say it again."

"Crème Brûlée."

"I like it when you say that."

This time, she draws out the pronunciation, "Crème Brûlée…" He provides her with a wink of the eye and in return, he receives a faint chuckle. And subconsciously, without her even noticing, her foot finds its way back towards the side of his leg, running up and down along the fabric of his pants leg, "Here are your drinks."

She's startled. She was doing something she shouldn't have been and Simon's voice and presence catches her off guard. Her foot is pulled away and Jay holds his head down to hide his smirk, and mouthing the words I told you so once Simon briefly looks away. He pulls out his notepad and this time, he also takes out a pen; first turning to Lindsay, he asks, "What can I get for you Miss?"

"Uh," she stumbles over her words as she scans the menu, "I would like the" she's searching and searching for something that sounds familiar and actually edible for her to eat, "Ratatouille."

"And you sir?"

"This," Jay does as he said he would and points at the first thing he sees on the menu. Erin chuckles as she watches the waiter scribble down their orders before taking their menus and walking away. Halstead looks back at his wife, she's people-watching the surrounding patrons, "You don't even know what ratatouille is."

This earns her attention and she simply smirks, "I know enough. It was the only thing that sounded familiar. I've seen the movie with Danny."

"You're basing your food order on an animated movie."

"Well, at least I'm basing mine off of something."

"Touché," he whispers, lifting his scotch glass and holding it out towards her, "…to my wife."

She lifts her glass and extends it, "…to my husband."

Their glasses clink and before either takes a sip, he whispers, "Happy anniversary Lindsay."

"Happy anniversary Halstead."

Their glasses reach their lips and they take the smallest sip before setting it down. She looks over at him as he watches the pianist's fingers slide gracefully along the piano keys. He nods his head in melody to the tune and she smirks, finding it absolutely adorable. After taking another swig of her wine, she clears her throat, "Are you enjoying the show?"

"Kind of," he turns back to face her, "There's not much else to look at while waiting."

"Well I disagree," she argues jokingly.

"You know, besides you," he quickly corrects, rising from his seat and leaning over the table; she rises and meets him halfway, quickly sealing the deal and presses her lips against his, "Want to place a bet to pass the time?"

She takes another sip, "I'm listening."

"I bet you a foot massage that our food will come out with some of those fancy leaves on the plate that is technically just there for decoration."

"Nope," she shakes her head, "I'm not making that bet."

"Why not?"

"Jay, look at this place!" She gasps suddenly, "It has chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. A pianist is playing the piano. The waiters are wearing tuxedos. The waitresses are wearing black dresses with white gloves! The only reason this place wouldn't have green leaves as decoration on the plate is if plants didn't exist. To make that bet would be signing up to lose."

"Alright," Jay nods, giving in, "I guess no foot massage for me."

"No foot massage for me either."

"You've had foot massages from me," he argued, lifting his glass of scotch to take another sip.

"You only gave me foot massages when I was pregnant."

"I still gave you one."

"That doesn't count!"

"It does too," he rebuts, laughing along with his wife.

"No it doesn't! I was carrying around your baby and my feet were swelling up! It was the least you could do," Erin contended, "and not to mention, you've only given me two foot massages and both were closer to the end of my pregnancy."

"Well it's not my fault you didn't tell me until closer to the end."

"You're exaggerating," she proclaims, rolling her eyes mockingly, "I was like four months when you found out I was pregnant."

"With that said, I think we both earned a foot massage," Jay asserts, raising his glass towards her, "Let's book a spa day and that can be our anniversary present to ourselves."

"I knew there was another reason why I married you," she jokes, jarring her glass against his in agreement. She brings the glass to her lips and takes another sip as the waiter approaches their table with two plates of food.

Her dish is placed down in front of her and his is set down in front of him. The waiter stands there, waiting to be dismissed and once they assure him that they're fine and they have everything they need, he disappears. Neither dig in right away. She's staring at a bowl of food she didn't recognize; she had no idea what was in it. Her eyes zoom in on it and avert upwards to her husband when he speaks, "You try yours first."

"Let's try our food at the same time."

Jay nods and lifts up his fork. Watching his wife as she lifts up hers and at the same time they take a bite. He hesitantly chews, expecting not to like it, but the flavor blends well and he finds it pretty good. By the look on Erin's face, she likes her dish too. More relaxed now, they eat and resume their conversation. Erin takes the last sip of her wine, "We both have two leaves a piece," she notices, "And nobody lost the bet."

"A bet wasn't placed," he uses his fork to push the leaves to the side, "You chickened out."

"I did not chicken out," she defended, smiling up at the waiter when he approached to fill her wine glass, "I just didn't make a bet I knew I was going to lose."

He leans forward and his voice falls even lower, "Question?"

"Possible answer…"

"Would you want to come back to this place?"

"Truth?" She questions and he silently answers with a nod, "Not at all. It's not our scene."

"I was thinking the same thing. I mean, don't get me wrong, the food is pretty good but it's definitely not worth as much as they're selling it for and don't get me started on the atmosphere."

Erin quickly nods her agreement, "I know what you mean! I feel like I'm getting weird looks and being judged. There's either something in my teeth, my bra strap is showing, my dress is a little too flashy or I'm using the wrong spoon to eat my food."

Halstead laughs –a deep, hardy chuckle- his head falling back and his back leant against his seat. This earns a few odd looks from the diners around them but he barely notices; he's too entertained by his wife's comment. She suddenly starts to chuckle too; his laughter is contagious and causes for her to laugh just as hard, earning the side eyes and the aggressive clearing of the throat to remind them of their whereabouts. The couple contains themselves and suppresses their growing urge to laugh. She resumes eating her food, choosing a different spoon to test out if she will continue to receive those odd looks. Jay cuts into his food, and takes another bite and the smiling creases on his face disappear as the mood changes; it grows serious as he reflects over the last seven years, "Where has the time gone?"

"I know what you mean…"

"One second, we're dating."

She nods, "…then we're moving in together."

"Getting married."

"Going on our honeymoon."

He takes another bite, "Working together as a married couple."

"Having a baby," her words come out in a whisper that he perfectly hears, "She's already six months. She's already half a year Jay. Where does the time go?"

"I don't know, but I do know that I want it to slow down a bit."

Erin's foot finds its way back to her husband's leg, running up and down the fabric while looking into his eyes. He's shifting in his seat, growing uncomfortable and sexually frustrated as his wife teases him from across the table, "You have to stop that."

Her tongue traces over her bottom lip, "Why? You don't like it?"

"That's not the problem," he clears his throat and pushes his empty plate away from him; "The problem is I like it too much." Her foot trails higher up his leg and he swats it away.

"I'm finished my food," she asserts, taking a glance across the table, "and you're finished your food. Maybe we should get out of here, send Voight home and close out our anniversary with a literal bang?"

Jay immediately sits up straight, sliding back from the table to steer clear of her foot. He runs his hands down his lap and stands up, clearing his throat and holding onto the back of his chair to establish his balance, "I'm going to go to the restroom and then we're getting out of here."

Erin nods, sliding her feet back into her heels, "I'll ask for the check to cut some time." She loved what she could do to him. He's flustered. He's sweating just a tad bit. Jay backs away from her and almost bumps into a waitress, sending her an apology; he turns on his heel and walks off in the direction of the restroom. Erin remains seated; her eyes skim the restaurant in search of Simon –their waiter. And while she searches, she casually sips upon her wine.

When the waiter is suddenly spotted, she raises her hand in the air and nonchalantly waves it, earning the side eyes from other diners sitting near her. Simon adjusts his tie and walks over, furrowing his brows in confusion when she poses a question, "May I have the check please?"

"Your check has been taken care of ma'am."

Normally she would have corrected him by simply telling him to call her Erin, but at hearing that her meal was paid for already, she didn't care about the formal address. She turned her body to face the waiter, "By whom?"

"The gentleman at the bar," he answered, pointing with his eyes, "He left a nice tip too."

"What?" Erin released a nervous chuckle, turning in her seat to face the bar. Her eyes searched the area and suddenly fell on a man sitting on one of the stools. He could feel Erin's eyes burning into the back of his head and slowly turned around to meet her gaze with a charming smile. Erin didn't return the smile; she immediately faced forward and swallowed down the remainder of her drink.

Simon was gone, attending to another table and she was left waiting patiently for her husband. Her fingers tapped impatiently upon the table and her eyes were cast downward, only looking up when a wine glass is placed in front of her. She smiles, "I didn't order a refill." Looking up to meet his eyes, she notices it's the man from the bar, not her waiter. He meets her gaze and gives her a flirtatious wink of the eye. He drinks the remainder of his scotch to muster up some liquor courage before setting his empty glass down onto her table, "Red dress," the man announced with a deep and husky voice, curving the side of his lips to give her a corner smile, "I had just walked in for a drink and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you sitting by yourself and having dinner alone," his gaze was focused on her eyes, only temporarily averting downwards to take in her dress, "If it isn't my lucky day…"

"You're mistaken," Erin pushes the glass away, "I'm not alone," her hand waves in the direction of the empty plate and glass across from her. With a polite smile on her face, she sighs, "I'm sorry, but it isn't your lucky day after all."

A tall, sophisticated and wealthy man was obviously and blatantly hitting on her. She wasn't interested at all, but since having a baby six months ago. it was nice to know men still found her attractive. Sometimes you just need that reminder. Her body has went through changes; she has lost all of the baby weight, but her hips were a tad bit wider and her breasts were just a small bit larger. She definitely wasn't the same as she was right after birth, but she noticed the changes –Jay did too and he loved every part of it. Erin remained seated, hearing the man sigh disappointedly, but when he didn't leave, she felt forced to look back up at him, "You know," his seductive voice drawls, "Sometimes being alone is not all about the physical. You're not connected at the hip. So, you can be alone if you wish to be."

"Fine," she smiles up at him, dimples piercing her cheeks, "I wish to be alone. Thank you."

He chuckles, "Gorgeous and funny," he leans forward and slides the wine glass towards her.

"No thank you," she pushes it away once again.

"What's stopping you? What's stopping us?"

"I have a baby."

"Something we have in common," he flashes a grin; his own dimples piercing his cheeks, "I have a kid too; two to be more precise. You'll have to try again sweetheart."

She casually brings her left hand up to swipe a strand of hair behind her ear, flashing him the sparkling wedding band while doing so, "I have a baby with _my husband_ ," she reinforced, determined to end this conversation, especially before Jay returned.

He stared, never breaking eye contact with her. It's intense for him, but awkward for her, and he never draws away, only focuses harder, "What another coincidence, I have two kids with my wife," he reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out his wedding band, sliding it back on his finger as she watches, "They're back home in New York," he stoops down in front of her, resting on one knee as if he was going to propose, "I'm not proposing or anything. I'm not looking for commitment or a relationship. I have one of those already. What I'm looking for," he lifts her hand and she immediately slides it out of his hold, "is fun. I'm looking for sex. No strings attached. Wild, adulterated sex with no names shared. I promise, it'll be worth it and you won't regret it one bit," he said charmingly; the confidence in his proposal earned an eye roll from her. While his wife is at home with two kids, he's here, offering and practically pleading for sex.

"I love my husband."

"He'll never know."

"…but I will," she says through gritted teeth, but keeps her voice low "No. No. That will never happen. You want to cheat on your wife. You want me to cheat on my husband. No. Get out of here," he stands, but he's neither hurt nor swayed by her words; he simply reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card with a hotel name imprinted on the front, "I'll be in Chicago for three more days," he lifts a pen from his jacket pocket and jots down a three-digit number, "I'm in the presidential suite if you change your mind, this is my room number" he sets the card down in front of her, "Stop by at any time after six. Or you can stop by tonight after you put your husband and baby to bed," the man's eyes traveled from her eyes to her lips, wanting desperately to take her right there in the middle of the restaurant. His fingers slide the card closer, ensuring she sees it and when she lifts it up, he smiles, "A woman like you deserves the best."

"I already have the best."

He didn't believe her. By the look on his face, he thought she was joking. He figured she was just playing hard to get. The man gives her a suggestive wink, "If you want to know what a real man can do to you then come see me tonight. My meeting tomorrow is not until noon." And with that, he walks away. He walks out of the restaurant.

She didn't even notice she was staring, she was unfocused and dazed out until she hears her husband's voice. He sets his hand on her shoulder, staring off in the direction where he too watches the man disappear outside, "Who was that?" He looks down at his wife as she stands.

"No one important," she slides her coat on.

Jay squints, finding his wife's distraction suspicious, "What was all of that about? I saw him talking to you before I got back to the table." Erin plays the conversation over in her head. A woman was home in New York, raising two children, and thinking her husband was out of town only to conduct business. Just because Erin turned him down didn't mean someone else wouldn't. Halstead continues to find his wife's silence odd, and as he slides his coat on, he notices it –a business card positioned right in front of his wife's seat- he lifts it and notices the hotel name and room number on the back, "I'm going to kill him."

Erin snaps out of it, pressing her hand against his chest to prevent him from going after the stranger, "Easy there tiger."

His wide eyes travel his wife's face; she's calm, she's nervous. She doesn't want to cause a scene in front of all of these uppity people. Cupping Jay's face in her hands, she presses her lips against his, "I never realized how lucky I am to have a husband like you," she continues thinking about the man's wife at home, miles and miles away.

"He bought you a drink," Jay grits, eyes focusing on the full wine glass at the table, while his wife continues to press kisses against his lips; he's not returning any of them. His eyes are cast downward on the wine glass as she continues to pepper kisses against his lips, "How come you didn't drink it?"

She steps back, "Why would I? I didn't want to give him the wrong impression."

"It looks like you failed at that."

Erin takes a step back, smirking at his words and refusing to allow them to make her upset, "Let's go home," she slowly buttons up her coat, "and you can make me forget all about him."

"Are you serious right now? This isn't a joke," he argues, being mindful to keep his voice low, "He left his phone number and hotel information. He's expecting you to meet up with him later."

"Jay, it's not that serious," she retorted, taking the business card and ripping it in half, "It's not like I'm actually going to show up."

"That's beside the point! The point is he felt confident enough that you were going to take him up on his offer by leaving his hotel number for you!"

"You're making it a big deal."

"That jackass was hitting on you."

"And I turned down his advances." Now she was growing irritated.

"But he still felt comfortable enough to give you his number," Jay countered, buttoning up his own coat, "He felt comfortable enough to approach you, a married woman, and offer sex."

She sighed, "Please, let's not do this," Erin takes a hold of his hand.

"You told him you were married?"

"Of course, I even flashed my ring and everything."

"Asshole," he spat.

When the surrounding diners began oddly looking their way, she embarrassingly sighs. Holding his hand in hers, she tugs him closer, "We're not doing this here." She doesn't leave room for argument. Her tone is final. And he gets it and gives in, "You're right. We don't want to cause a scene," he glances down at the table, "Where's the check?"

"It's been taken care of," she whispers.

And normally Jay would leave it at that, but when he reads her eyes, he knows there's more. Jay pinches the bridge of his nose, "You paid the-" he cuts himself off; "You didn't pay did you?"

"The guy did," she hesitantly whispers, closing her eyes to block out his disapproving look.

"You're kidding me right? Please tell me you're joking," he declares, "The guy paying for your meal is probably the reason why he thinks he has an invitation to get in your pants!"

"Jay, I'm serious, let's not do this."

"So, what made him leave? Was it the fact that you're married or was it because you told him you had a kid?" He follows her out of the restaurant. Her head is hung low as she storms off towards their parked car; when he catches up, she answers, "Neither."

"So let me get this straight," he carefully pulls her to a stop, "The ring on your finger and the six month old baby at home wasn't enough to send him on his way?"

"He's married with kids too."

"And he wanted to strike up an affair with you?"

She wanted to be honest, so she told him the truth. She licked her lips and sighed, "He said he wasn't looking to propose; he just wanted to have some fun on the side."

Jay shoves his hands into his pockets, "I wish I had followed after him when he left," he resumes his walk towards the car.

"And done what?" This time, she jogs to catch up to him and pulls him to a stop a few feet in front of their car, "Jay, stop being ridiculous. I turned him down. I said no to him. I'm happily married to you. I want you. I love you. I have a baby with you! Why are we arguing about this?"

His hand slams against the hood of their car, "Because I'm tired of men thinking they can sleep with anyone they want; I'm tired of the fact that no, stop and I'm married aren't big enough reasons for someone to stop flirting with you and I'm tired of the fact that the first night we go out for some alone time on our anniversary, a douchebag has to come ruin it. That's why we're fucking arguing about this Erin! And you just giggle and think it's cute."

"No I don't," she argued.

"That's what you're doing right now!"

"One of us needs to keep our cool; one of us needs to stay level-headed."

He shook his head and countered, "If the roles were reversed, you would be upset."

"I wouldn't be as mad as you are right now."

"Are you saying I don't have a right to be mad?"

"No, I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is you can be mad, but don't take it out on me. I don't want him! I paid no interest in him! I didn't do anything with him! I turned him down!"

"You turned him down like you turned Tyler down?!"

Silence takes over the night; it swarms the streets. Erin doesn't say anything right away. She's quiet. She looks at him in disbelief. Her breath hitches in her throat. And she suddenly realizes that they've been arguing outside, with bystanders quietly walking pass, ensuring that they don't disturb the argument. She steps away from her husband. And he doesn't even look guilty. He doesn't even realize the magnitude in what he just said. And that hurts Erin even more. There's a genuine, hurt pout settling on her lips, "Really Jay?" She drops her head and when she looks back up, she finds it hard to swallow, "How dare you bring that up?" Tears threaten to spill from her eyes and she reaches up to wipe them away before they trickle out.

"What?"

Pointing her finger and shoving it against his chest, anger replaces the sadness and she asserts, "This is not the same thing and you fucking know it!"

"How isn't it the same thing?" He argued back, refusing to back down, "Tyler wanted you and he was very persistent and adamant about it. Douchebag in the restaurant wanted you and seemed to be very determined and stubborn about it. They both knew you were married and they both didn't care. Tyler knew you were pregnant with my baby and douchebag knew you had a kid and they both didn't care! How is that not the same thing?"

"Because Tyler was fucking crazy and he tried to kill me!" She cried out, tears uncontrollably run down her cheeks, her bottom lip trembles and the bystanders quicken their pace to get out of earshot; this was a personal conversation and they didn't want to disrespect them by listening, "He tied me up and tried to cut my baby out of my fucking stomach Jay! The two have no comparison!" She approaches him and he sees the hurt, "And I can't believe you…I can't believe you would bring him up just to prove a point, just to try and hurt me," when he reaches out his hand, she immediately swats it away, "I don't care who flirts with me. I don't care how persistent they are about it. I don't care if they're scum, obnoxious, misogynistic pigs! None of them have any comparison to Tyler…and for you to do that, for you to bring him up just to get me as pissed off as you are right now is sad," her voice quivers and breaks, "I almost lost you because of him. I almost lost my life because of him. I almost…I almost lost my baby because of him. And for you to throw him in my face…fuck you."

He reaches out to grab her arm, regret clearly evident across his features, "This isn't about Tyler; so I'm sorry for making it about him," he sets his hand against her cheek "This is about that guy in the restaurant propositioning you before and even after you told him you're married with a kid. He wanted you to have an affair with him; be his mistress. I can never be okay with that."

Tears continue to stream down her face, "You're going to have to find a way to be because there is nothing I can do about it," she sniffs, "People are going to find me attractive Jay just like people are going to find you attractive; we have to find a way to be okay with that," she licks her dry lips, "It's not like either one of us is actually going to accept a date or an invitation to have sex with them. I'll admit, I've had my fair share of jealous reactions, but I've never held them against you. I was never angry with you about them because I know you did nothing to lead them on, I trust you; I was always angry with the person, never you."

Jay releases her hand and runs his palm down his face. He releases a large breath, trying to calm himself, but failing miserably, "I just keep picturing that guy's hands on you."

"WHY?" She shouted, obviously not over what he said earlier, "You're only going to make yourself angry! Do you actually think I would ever take someone up on their-" and by the look on his face, her heart stops and her throat dries, "You do."

"No I don't," he attempts to argue.

"Yes you do, otherwise you wouldn't be such an ass to me right now!"

"Erin-"

"You think if I was by myself, I would have taken him up on his offer."

"That's-"

"You think I led him on. You think I want to be his mistress. You think I want the diamonds and all of the materialistic things his money has to offer."

"Erin-"

She turns away from him, "Take me home Jay."

"Erin-"

"I said TAKE ME HOME!" She sighs and calms down the second she hears the car unlock; after moving past her husband, she throws open the passenger side door, slides in and slams it shut. She doesn't rush him. Her arms are crossed over her chest and she glares at him, standing there, in front of the car with his hands on his hips and his head down, staring at the ground. Today had been too perfect; she should have known that something was going to ruin it; something always ruins everything good in her life.

When Jay gets inside the vehicle, he starts the engine and pulls off. He doesn't look at her or even acknowledge her presence, he simply drives. In his peripheral vision, he notices his wife shift in her seat. She finds comfort staring outside and watching the buildings flash by, it's calming and she's able to calm down momentarily until he speaks back up, "Erin."

"You threw Tyler in my face," she mutters, watery eyes staring out of the passenger side window; she can't find it in herself to look at him, "What he did to me," she clears her throat, "the cut, it healed. The bruises all healed. My head healed. Everything physically wrong with me, healed, but Jay, my emotional scars," her voice betrays her and breaks, "my psychological scars, they're still injured. And you knew that," she swallows hard and looks over at him, "You are very aware of that and you didn't care. All you cared about was hurting me. And that's not okay. You hardly EVER," she shouts, "bring Tyler up, but you did because you knew that there are a few things that can hurt me and he's one of them."

"Babe-"

She cuts him off, "I'm glad that guy hit on me," the car stops at a red light and he disappointedly looks over at her, "because if he didn't, I wouldn't know how you truly felt."

"That's not fair."

"You don't trust me."

"Yes I do," he argued.

"No you don't," she sniffs, using the back of her thumb to wipe beneath her eyes, "because if you did, you wouldn't be so insecure right now. You wouldn't be mad at me! You wouldn't be saying half of the things you're saying! I might as well go out there and actually sleep with someone else because you're treating me like I already did!"

"That's not funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny."

He reaches over to grab her hand but she quickly snatches it away; she's in no mood to be coddled or held, "Erin," his hand returns to the steering wheel, "I hate when we fight. It's pointless. We're not getting anywhere. You know I love you and-"

"That's not always going to work Jay," she says through gritted teeth; her sadness suddenly turning to anger, "You can't just intentionally hurt my feelings and then say I love you and hope that repairs the damage," she watches him place the car in park outside of their house, "You know I've been seeing Dr. Charles for months over what Tyler did. The baby had to stay in the hospital for a week after she was born a preemie; I was discharged two days after giving birth and every night for that week and the week after, I cried myself to sleep and you knew that. I had nightmares about Tyler and you knew that. I've been self-conscious about my scar because it reminded me of everything he did and all that he wanted to do and you knew that. You knew I carried the burden of what Tyler did on my shoulders…and by you bringing him up, shows me that you didn't care," she unbuckles her seat belt, opens the door and steps out.

Erin can hear him doing the same and neither spoke to one another as they approached the outside of their house. She plastered a fake smile onto her face. She didn't want to have to worry about what Voight would say or do if he knew about the current argument. Erin just wanted to go to bed and end this day, this day that was supposed to be perfect –their seventh anniversary. Unlocking the front door and stepping inside the house, they both act normal. Plastering smiles on their faces, they search for Voight and find him in the living room, "Hey," Erin greets.

"How was dinner?" Hank smiled, rising from his seat; he noticed the smile on Lindsay's face, it's obviously forced, but he didn't want to question her on it…especially in front of Jay.

"It was really nice," she answers, walking over to him and pulling him into a hug, "Thank you."

"Haven is upstairs asleep," he informs, lifting his leather jacket from behind the chair, "we played for quite some time, I fed her a bottle of rice cereal, read her a story and she fell asleep an hour ago." He doesn't draw out of the hug; he knows she needs it by how tight and how long she's holding on. Voight simply presses a kiss against the top of her head, "You okay kid?"

She pulls away, "Yeah, I'm just tired, I guess."

"Get some rest. We all have work tomorrow."

Lindsay nods; he's right. They all have to report in for work tomorrow so it's best to get some type of sleep, even though she knows it won't be so easy, she has too much on her mind. Voight pats Halstead on the shoulder before walking out of the door, leaving her with the one person she doesn't want to be left alone with right now. Without uttering a word, she storms up the stairs. She doesn't feel like changing her clothes, wiping the lipstick off her lips or sleeping in the room with her husband, she just wanted to be left alone. Erin notices him walking into the master bedroom, loosening his tie and taking his suit jacket off. She kicks off her heels and sets them neatly in the closet before making her way towards the door, "Where are you going?"

She's irritated and it shows, "I don't know…" her shoulders shrug, "maybe to his hotel room! It's the presidential suite if I remember correctly."

"That's not funny!"

"What's not funny is bringing Tyler up! There's nothing funny at all about that."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought him up."

"…but you did. You brought him up to hurt me and congratulations Jay," she claps her hands dramatically, "you did." Lindsay slams the bedroom door behind her and she walks barefoot down the hallway towards the guestroom.

With so much on her mind and so many emotions flooding her body, she didn't know what to focus on first. She crawls on top of the comforter set and lies on her back. She feels guilty for putting her daughter in danger. She feels stupid for not noticing that Tyler was a serial killer sooner. She feels betrayed because Jay intentionally brought up the one thing he knew would hurt her. And she feels sad…so sad every time she remembers that day. It's forever engraved in her memory. It's the night before her daughter was born. Erin rolls over onto her side –she's restless. With all of her racing thoughts and demanding emotions, she can't fall asleep. She's alone and today she doesn't want to be alone at all.

Lindsay stands and grabs a pillow from on top of the guest bed. She puts it under her arm and walks out of the room, approaching the hallway closest to grab a blanket from the shelf. It's quiet in the house. The master bedroom light is off and she assumed her husband was asleep. It seemed to be a privilege to fall asleep without the added guilt, fear, sadness and hurt that remembering such an event would cause. Tightening her grip on the pillow and the blanket, Erin quietly walks into the nursery. She cracks the door and drops the pillow and blanket to the ground. Tears swarm her eyes when she looks down at her sleeping baby; she's so peaceful. Lying on her back with a thick purple blanket covering her, Haven was dreaming about the angels. She had a smile on her face and her dimples were showing. Erin kisses two of her fingers before gently settling them against Haven's cheek, "Havie," her voice cracks and breaks, as her hands grip around the bars of the crib, "I'm so sorry baby!" She hiccups through her tears, "I risked your life. I put you in danger. I'm sorry about Tyler. I'm sorry that I'm not perfect. I don't seem to be able to do anything right. And I want to; I don't want my mistakes, my screw ups to affect you. I love you…more than you'll ever know," she draws back from the crib and lies down on the floor, positioning the pillow beside the crib as she lays to face it, "When the day comes that you learn about Tyler, I hope that you can forgive me. I was an idiot to trust him. I was a fool to play along with his flirts and his compliments. And because I did, he thought I was something that I wasn't; he thought I was perfect," a silence follows her admission; she struggles to contain her tears, "My life was in danger because of that…and so was yours," she thinks back to that day, "And Dr. Charles keeps telling me that I need to forgive myself, but I can't. I was supposed to keep you safe and I failed…and I blame myself for that. Your dad does too. He doesn't say it, but he blames me. He blames me for the attack and for the kiss."

The moment she has with her sleeping daughter is over as her throat grows dry. She swallows and pulls the blanket up to her shoulders, staring off and becoming distracted by the nightlight plugged into the wall. She's breathing lightly and she doesn't know how long she lays there –wide awake- but at some point, in the middle of the night, Jay comes into the nursery, also unable to sleep due to his racing thoughts and the guilt that swarmed every inch of him. She can feel him walking inside, "Erin," he whispers and she pretends to be asleep; she closes her eyes. Halstead disappears out of the nursery and she reopens them until he reappears holding a pillow and a blanket. He sets it down next to her and lies behind her, pressing his chest against her back and wrapping his arm around her waist –spooning her, "Babe," he whispers before kissing the back of her head, "I'm really sorry. I feel so bad; I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

She sniffs, unable to avoid the tears streaming down her face, "You still blame me for Tyler."

"No I don't."

His arm remains over her waist as she rolls over to face him, "You wonder how come I didn't see anything," she whispers, feeling his thumb wipe away two fallen tears, "How come I didn't know? I was the closest to him and I had no idea until it was too late."

"Erin-"

"How was I supposed to know Jay," she cries.

"Babe, I'm-"

"You're sorry, I know," she interrupts, "but what was I supposed to do? Looking back, the clues were all there, but in the moment, I didn't see it. He was a detective. He was charming. Everyone trusted him, not just me. We thought he was good police. No one saw this coming. And I didn't want him. I didn't know any of this was going to happen." It's like she's pleading with him –in a mindful whisper because the baby's sleeping- but she's pleading, practically begging for him to understand and to see how she didn't see any of it coming.

He rubs her back, "I know."

"No you don't. If you did, you wouldn't have brought him up to hurt me," she exclaims, forgetting to keep her voice low, "I know I am far from perfect, but when I look at her, I know that I did something perfect in my life. Tyler couldn't take her away from me. And I try to remember that, but it's hard, especially when you throw him in my face. Tyler couldn't take her away from us because she's strong."

"…because you protected her," he adds.

"I should have done more."

"You did what you could and I'm not mad at you for it."

She sighs, "…but Tyler's kiss."

"What about it?"

"We stopped talking to each other because of that," she reminds, scooting her face closer as she lowers her voice even more, "You have to know that I didn't want it. I didn't or I wasn't trying to lead him on. He saw something that wasn't there."

Jay leaned his head forward and pressed a light kiss against the tip of her nose, "There's only a few things in this world that can really get under my skin; it's when you or Haven are hurt or in any type of danger," he runs his hand through her hair, "or if something or someone threatens our relationship. I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me."

"When I saw Tyler kiss you, I thought I was going to lose you."

"…but you didn't," she murmurs, bringing her hand up to the side of his face; she caresses it softly, "I told you this last year and I'm going to say it again, but this is the last time I'm saying it. You have to trust me. The only actions I can control are mine; I can't control what anyone else says or does or how anyone else feels. I couldn't stop Jennifer from hitting on you. I didn't like it. I didn't approve of it. I inserted myself in you guy's conversation and I was a bit possessive, but that was all I could do on my end. The rest was left up to you and her. I trust you. I never once doubted you. I was a little jealous, but I'm your wife and I had every reason to be, but I didn't let that jealousy get between us," she brushed her thumb beneath his eye, "I trust you. And I need you to extend me the same courtesy. I don't think I've given you any reason not to trust me."

"At least not until Tyler came in the picture…"

So basically, as she mentally interprets what he said, she interprets it as he doesn't trust her. That's the bottom line. Erin wanted this night to end peacefully; it was an hour left until their anniversary was over and it was considered ruined. She stands up, snatches her blanket and pillow up and walks out of the nursery, quietly shutting the door behind her. Jay didn't even get to say another word; he didn't get to clear the air and explain to her what he meant. She just took it the wrong way. He immediately hopped to his feet, refusing to allow their seventh anniversary to end like this. Halstead rushed out of the nursery, closing the door behind him before catching up to his wife as she entered the guestroom. Throwing the blanket over onto the armchair and neatly placing the pillow back down onto the bed, she watched him enter. She stands up straight, arms crossed over her chest, she glares, "What do I have to do to get you to trust me?"

"I don't know," he shrugs.

She drops her head, "Wrong answer," and when she looks back up, he moves closer. Finding it hard to swallow, he takes a hold of her hand until she snatches it away. Erin moves away from him and he notices the tears in her eyes, "You don't…" he wants to wipe the tears away, but he knew she wouldn't let him. She sniffs, "You don't trust me because of what went down with Tyler. I slept over his house –nothing happened- but I still slept over there. He knew I was pregnant before you did. He kissed me and you walked in on that. He flirted with me and it did make me feel really good, but his feelings weren't reciprocated."

"Erin-"

"Let me finish, please," she whispers, and her eyes don't meet his. It pains her to even think of it, to even say it, but it needs to be said. She stands beautifully in her red dress, hand running through her brunette locks and her face is flushed and tear-stricken, "There's nothing I can say to get you to understand what I went through in that basement and I know that's because I never really wanted to talk about it with anyone besides Dr. Charles. Well Jay, Tyler pushed me down the stairs," she looks up and meets his watery eyes, "I discovered…whatever it is he called that room and when I went up the stairs, he caught me and he pushed me and I landed," she starts crying, "I landed on my stomach and I started bleeding. I thought I was losing my baby and you will never understand how that feels, when you carry a part of you for months and you can physically feel yourself losing it. Every pain, every contraction and every drop of blood, I felt myself getting closer and closer to losing her," an increase in tears runs down her face and her eyes turn red and puffy, "And he didn't care! I trusted him. I saw him as a friend and he did that to me. When I tried to get away, he dragged me down the stairs. He dragged me through my own pool of blood. And…and," she starts hiccupping through her tears, "he put me in that chair, strapped me in and there was nothing I could do. He was going to carve my eyes out! He started cutting my stomach and I passed out because of the pain and when I woke up, I thought it was over, I thought he delivered her, but he didn't. He wanted me to be awake for it all. He wanted me to watch. He wanted me to know that he was taking my baby and there was nothing I could do about it. When I passed out, he waited until I woke back up just so he can enjoy hearing my screams," Jay reached his hand out to her and she immediately pulled away, "I was having open surgery without the proper tools and medication. It hurt so much. When I moved because of the pain, he told me to be still. When I closed my eyes to block it out, he told me to open them. My water broke and I needed to push and he told me not to, he ordered me not to push. He wanted to cut her out of me. He wanted me to suffer in as many ways as possible. And I know you didn't know the little details; you only knew the big stuff, but that's because I wanted to spare you, but everything I just said, all those memories I just relived, the man you brought up to hurt me, did that," she runs her hand down her face and starts approaching him, "It may have been a minor comment on your end, but to me, it was so much more than that. To compare Tyler to that man completely undermines Tyler and what he did. To be reminded of him, reminds me of what he did, of what I felt, what I almost lost and what I went through. I didn't think I would have to relive any of that, at least until the trial, but you, my own husband, did me the honor of bringing it up, of reminding me" she stops crying and becomes face to face with him, a mixture of anger and hurt apparent on her face, "And using Tyler and what happened with him against me will always hit below the belt. It will break me every time. It chips away at every attempt I have in keeping myself together. I mean…look at me right now! So if you're that desperate to win an argument, to prove a point or to silence me, then continue to bring it up, but I will only say this one time, if I'm going to heal, I can't be worried that you're going to throw him at me every time you get upset or jealous. If you do that to me," her tears start to come back, "then you don't love me as much as you say you do. If you do that to me again, I will leave. I will pack a bag, grab my baby and leave. I will go and I won't look back because for the last six months I've been keeping myself together, I've been going to therapy, working, being a mother, being a wife and I'm not throwing away the months' worth of progress I've made for you to make a point. I've come too far for that. I confronted Tyler and walked out of there with my head held high. I expected him to say something to hurt me, but not you and I think that's what made it hurt so much. This isn't about the guy at the restaurant; this is about you continuously allowing Tyler to be a threat to our marriage! This is about your insecurities and maybe you should see Dr. Charles too," she wipes the remaining tears from her eyes before throwing back the comforter on the bed.

He watches her. He struggles to find the words to say. He doesn't want to lose her. He can't lose her. She's his wife and he needs her. He wants her. He loves her. Jay wipes the tears from his eyes, but they continue to come back the longer he looks at her. He put that frown there. He put those tears in her eyes. He hurt her. He did that. He broke a promise he made to her years ago about never hurting her and he did. Jay approaches her, his hand reaching out but hesitating to grab her. She doesn't even notice. She's too distracted by preparing the guest bed. He licks his lips and whispers, "I do trust you," but she shakes her head, refusing to believe his words, "Lindsay," he sternly calls out, "I do trust you. It's them I don't trust. When you asked me what should you do to earn my trust back, I said I didn't know because there was nothing to earn back. I trust you. And maybe I do need to see Dr. Charles. What Tyler did had its effect on all of us. And I'm sorry babe," he finds it in himself to grab her wrist to turn her around; she tries to yank her arm free, but he holds on, "I will never bring him up again, unless it's to check in on you. I'm sorry I did that. I didn't want to hurt you. I was just trying to prove a point and I know that was unfair and stupid and I'm so sorry. Erin I love you. Today was our day. It started off so perfect until I ruined it and I'm sorry. I will apologize as many times as it takes. You have to know and believe that I would never intentionally hurt her. I love you too much for that."

Erin's watching him; she's taking in his words and calming down with every apology and declaration of love. She wanted to reach out and cup his face but she was still calming down. She felt him cup her own face and before she could say anything, he leaned in and kissed her; his tears falling onto her cheeks as his lips remained pressed against hers. He wants to continue the kiss, but he feels her draw back. She stands beautifully in her red dress, her hair a bit wild from lying upon it in the nursery and from her continuously running her fingers through it. She still looks hurt. He takes a step away from her, "Don't ever doubt how much I love you. I trust you with everything. I trust you with my heart, my love, my life and my kid. I would be lost if you left. After you had Haven, we were resting in the hospital bed together and I told you that I'm glad you remained strong, I'm glad you fought. And do you remember what you said?" Erin says nothing, she just backs away from him until her back is pressed against the wall; he answers regardless of her silence, "You told me that I was worth fighting for; Haven was worth fighting for. Well Erin, you're worth fighting for too," he's watching her with a look of panic crossing his features because he doesn't know how to fix this. She simply offers him a smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes. He doesn't know what to do. He's struggling to fix this. He clears his throat, "I don't want you to leave. I don't want you to even think of leaving as an option. I will fight for you because you deserve it. You fought Tyler for me. You didn't give up for me. I want to be the best by you because you deserve it. I let my jealousy get the best of me and I took it out on you. I'm sorry babe. I don't want you to ever think that I don't love or trust you. I don't want those doubts to ever cross your mind. I would give you the world if I could."

"I don't want the world," she speaks up for the first time since he started talking, "I just want you to love and trust me, to try and understand where I'm coming from and to not use my demons against me," her breath is a whisper and she remains leant back against the wall.

"You have my word."

"I need to see it in action," she asserts, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I don't want to have this argument again. I don't like the way it has made me feel. I need to see it in action," she bites her lower lip as her eyes rise to meet his.

He nods, his eyes focusing in on her teeth pressing down onto her bottom lip. He watches the red dress cling to her body. He stares at her wild hair and the speed of his nod, increases. Jay wants to approach her, but his feet are glued to the ground; he's tired of being rejected when he physically made the first move. He decides to remain in the same spot, while his eyes roamed over her body, taking in the sight of his beautiful wife, "Kiss me."

She sniffs, struggling to ignore the way he's looking at her, "Jay-"

"I said kiss me."

Before Erin could contemplate his demand or convince herself against carrying it out, she surged forward, pushing herself away from the wall. She grabbed the collar of his buttoned-up shirt, fusing her lips against his as his hands gripped her hips, clenching his fingers around the red fabric of her dress. His fingers drift to her back, finding the zipper of her dress and their mouths continue to meld into one as he slowly lowers the zipper.

This heated passion is full of raging emotions –anger, fear, guilt, love, jealousy, sadness and so much more. Her head leans to the side the second his mouth leaves hers. He begins peppering kisses against her flesh, from her jaw to the bottom of her neck. Erin takes a step back the second the dress has completely unzipped. She bites her lip, as she slowly pulls the material off her body. The dress drops and she steps around it, standing before him in only her underwear. She went without a bra. Erin watches him stand before her, still fully dressed in his dress pants and buttoned-up shirt; she stands firm and runs one of her hands through her hair before she makes a demand, "Take it off." Her order doesn't require a response. He doesn't care about the buttons; he quietly rips his shirt open and throws it to the floor. Jay approaches her; their bodies press together as he dips his head to her jaw, kissing from her jawline towards her ear, "Mine," the possession in his voice attracts her. He kisses against the flesh beneath her eye, finding it damp from a teardrop and he draws away. He's nervous that his claim was the wrong move; his possessiveness coming out at the wrong time.

When his kisses stop, Erin reopens her eyes to meet his. And he notices the expression on her face soften. The anger once within her is slowly melting away. She brings her hand up to his face, and tenderly smiles, "I'll always be yours. Happy anniversary," And once those words are uttered, he presses his lips back against hers; it's desperate and wanting and she's okay with it. They've already wasted so much of their anniversary arguing, and with ten minutes left until midnight, he feels her hand grip his belt, desperately unstrapping it as she slowly backs them up towards the bed.


	7. Seven Months

When the curtains are drawn, she watches him stir in his sleep. His eyes remain closed as he fights the urge to open them and be blinded by the sunlight beaming in through the window. Erin crosses the room, fully dressed and ready to start the day, but the only thing preventing her from doing so is her sleeping husband. She approaches the bottom of their bed, "Jay…" her voice is a low and calming whisper as she steps out of her flip-flops and climbs onto the mattress, crawling up her husband and taking a seat on his sculptured chest, one leg bent and rested on either side of his waist, "Wake up."

"…just a little longer," he groaned, eyes remaining closed while a smirk crosses his lips.

Erin leaned forward, propping herself up on her elbows, forearms resting on either side of his face, hovering her lips mere inches above his, "It's a few minutes after noon."

"Ten more minutes," when he spoke, his lips brushed against hers.

"I showered, brushed my teeth, bathed the baby and got both of us dressed," she declared, lowering her face closer to his, "I prepped the food, straightened up the living room and fed the baby," her lips move and occasionally brush against her husband's mouth, "the least you can do is wake up at," her eyes avert towards the clock, "ten minutes after twelve to shower," she looks back at him, "brush your teeth, get dressed and start the grill. Company will be here soon."

Jay's eyes finally opened, "You bathed, dressed and fed the baby?"

"I sure did."

His heavy eyes take her in; she's fully dressed but her hair is still damp. One of his hands cups her face as he smiles up at her flushed cheeks, "Was it difficult?"

"Is grass green? Of course it was difficult," she exclaimed, tracing a finger slowly down the side of his face, feeling his lips stretch into a smile against hers, "Your daughter's name should have been difficult. I didn't even have to wash my hair in the shower Jay; she wet it enough during bath time. This wasn't the outfit I planned on wearing today," she points towards her red shorts and white shirt with the American flag printed on the front, "I was going to wear my red, white and blue sundress, but your daughter threw her baby food on it."

He chuckles and his voice is rough when he responds, "What baby food did you feed her?"

"…the green beans."

He starts laughing harder and since she's seated on his chest, she can feel his stomach rise and fall with each chuckle, "Those things are disgusting."

"No one told you to try it."

"I wanted to see what all the fuss was about," he defended; his lips turn into a lopsided grin when her hand runs through his messy bed hair, "I don't see how babies can eat that crap."

"Yeah well, she's a growing girl who is still too young to eat table food."

"Poor her," he chuckles lightly.

"Poor you if you don't get up and get ready."

Rolling himself onto his side, causing for her to slide off his body, his arm raveled around her waist and he pulled her backside up against his chest, "Five more minutes…"

"Everyone will be here any minute," she reminded, feeling his grip around her waist tighten; Erin rolled over in his arms to face him, "and apparently our friends aren't against using the spare key for non-emergencies. We should get up."

His leg tangled with hers as he pulled her in closer, "Who cares if they walk in? It'll be their fault. It'll serve them right and teach them to start knocking," he brings his lips towards hers.

"Atwater, Olinsky and Voight are already here, setting up the backyard."

"You really know how to kill the mood," he draws back, sighing when she rolls out of his embrace, "I'm getting up and I'll take a quick shower."

"Happy Fourth of July babe," she called out, widely smiling as she watched him head into their master bathroom, "It's time to celebrate America's birthday!"

Erin crawls out of the bed and quickly makes it as she hears the shower turn on. She adjusts her red shorts and white shirt, smiling down at the patriotic flag printed on the front. She slides her feet back into her blue flip-flops before walking out of the bedroom. Hands rubbing together as she makes her way down the hallway and into her daughter's nursery, "Happy first Independence day Havie," she greets her daughter once more, lifting the excited infant from her crib, "are you ready for your first cookout to celebrate our beautiful country?"

Haven is dressed for the event; she's comfortably in a white onesie with 'Made in America' etched out on the front and a red, white and blue tutu. The red, white and blue hair bow that was once on her head had been yanked off while she sat patiently in her crib, "This is the third time you've pulled this off," situating the baby on her hip and lifting up the hair bow from her crib, she tosses it onto Haven's dresser, "don't worry, I got the hint. I won't put it back on you." Erin adjusts the baby, bringing the small child towards her chest and walking out of the nursery while feeling Haven's hands yank and touch around her face.

Descending down upon the staircase, the baby fit snug –like a puzzle piece- in her mother's arms. Fully dressed and ready to celebrate the holiday, Erin carried the seven month old towards the living room window. Sunlight struggled to beam into the room until Lindsay used her free hand to pull the curtains open; earning the baby's immediate attention as she watched her mom's hand release the curtain. As they stand at the large window, peering outside at the beautiful warm summer, Haven continuously reached for the curtain, "Stop that," Erin chuckles, tugging her daughter's hand away, "Look outside Havie bear; isn't the view beautiful? It's such a perfect day," she presses a side kiss to her daughter's chubby cheek, "Gosh you're so freaking cute. I can just eat you up!" Erin gushed, blowing kisses into her daughter's neck and earning a sizeable laugh in return; Haven turns her head away from the window and towards her mom, smiling and giggling and wanting her to continue blowing bubbles into her skin. When Erin did, she laughed even harder. Her chuckles filled the room as her mom continues the assault against her neck.

Haven's strands of dirty blonde hair appeared lighter from the sun beaming through the window and reflecting against it. Neither paid attention to the view. Erin started to chuckle when her daughter continued laughing, her face turning red and her mouth wide open and showing her two teeth grown into the bottom of her gums, "You have no idea how much mommy loves you kid," she blows another bubble into her neck, "I can just listen to that laugh and look at that smile all day," she does another bubble and the infant in her arms is squirming and bouncing in absolute delight, "You may throw food at me, scream for absolutely no reason at all and try to live on the wild side by putting everything you can pick up in your mouth, but it all makes me love you even more," she looks at her daughter; Haven's expression now calm as her tiny hand rests against the side of her mother's face and a grin breaks out against her face when Erin leans in and pecks her nose, "You're just so fucking cute," Erin's eyes went wide, "Let's keep that slipup between you and me kid. Your dad wouldn't let me hear the end of it if he knew," Haven's mouth opens and she leans forward, connecting her open mouth against her mother's cheek, "Another wet, slobbery kiss," Erin chuckles watching her daughter draw back, leaving a wet mark of saliva along her cheek, "you're such a loveable little girl."

They remain standing at the window, babbling and giggling at one another until Erin sees movement in her peripheral. She spots Will, Natalie and little Owen walking up the front lawn. Bouncing the baby in her arms, she points, "Look Haven, Uncle Will is here!" The baby doesn't look; she continues staring at her mother's excited face until Will approaches the window and knocks. The baby jumps in her mother's arms before turning her head in the direction of the sound. Will is grinning from ear to ear and waving eagerly at the baby. His smile stretches wider when he spots a grin on his niece's face. He enthusiastically rushes to the front door and steps inside the second Erin walks over to open it, "Happy fourth," they greet and she happily says it back. Owen waves at Erin before rushing through the house, exerting the pint up energy coursing through his body, "No running in the house," Natalie shouts while following after her son.

"Alright," Will announces, rubbing his hands together before extending them towards the baby, "one of the main reasons I'm here is to see my favorite niece."

The two adults watch as Haven leans towards his open arms, excited to be picked up. After the baby is safely transferred, Erin follows him into the kitchen, "You came for Haven? And here I thought you came to see your beautifully, amazing sister-in-law."

"You saw through me," he chuckles, maneuvering the baby to his hip while opening his other arm to Lindsay, "I don't even know why I thought I could get anything by you."

Erin grins and closes the distance, elatedly wrapping her arms around her brother-in-law. She held him tight as she heard footsteps approaching, "I must say," Jay's voice earns their attention, "I love watching my wife throw herself into another man's arms." Erin and Will chuckle as their hug approaches its end.

With Will's other arm now free, he maneuvers the baby from his hip into a cradle hold. One hand is beneath her neck and head while the other is under her bottom. His fingers are spread as he supports her weight and holds her against his chest. The hand beneath her neck and head gradually slides along her back, sliding the infant's head along his forearm and resting comfortably in the crook of his arm and elbow. Will gazes into her eyes and brings her as close to his body as possible, gently rocking her, "I missed my favorite girl."

"And here I thought I was your favorite girl," Natalie announced, suddenly appearing beneath the threshold, "I need answers Will," she joked, feeling her heart warm up as she watches the baby stretch her hand up to touch against her uncle's face, "who's your real favorite girl?"

"Sorry Nat," Will replied, eyes focused on his niece's hazel gaze, "seven months ago my favorite girl status changed. I didn't want you to find out like this, but I have a new favorite girl."

"I suppose losing the title to a baby is understandable," she smirks, casually approaching her boyfriend and pressing a kiss against his cheek, "and I can't be too mad; my son is my favorite guy," she looks over at Erin and Jay smugly watching, "Do you guys need any help with anything?" She's back in serious mode, ready to offer her services wherever they're needed.

"I can help too."

The group turns to see Olive and Danny. The seven year old spots Owen and runs outside to play with him, leaving his mother in the kitchen. She approaches Haven and gleefully waves, however the seven month old eyes her uncertainly, her face unrecognizable, "Yeah," Erin speaks up as Will bounces the little girl in the direction of the back door, "Natalie, can you spread out the plastic table cloth on the backyard table? Olive, can you set up the music. It doesn't matter what station just make sure it's music we actually know." The two follow behind Will and disappear, leaving Erin to turn and face her husband, "Nice of you to join us," she jokes, approaching the fridge, "Take the hamburgers and hotdogs. I set up a table out there for the food. And the guys outside may need help setting up the grill. You bought that contraption and it has been an hour and they still haven't fired it up. We need to start cooking the food."

"Aye," he salutes, grabbing the tray of hamburgers and hotdogs before departing to the backyard.

Erin pulls out the remainder of trays in the refrigerator –chicken and vegetable kabobs, corn on the cob, sliced watermelon and an American flag decorated cake. Each tray is sat on the countertop. And when Erin hears music playing from the backyard, she looks up to see Ruzek and Burgess entering through the front door, "Happy fourth," Kim greets, carrying a platter in her hands, "I brought themed cupcakes! My mother made them."

"Same to you both," she responds, handing Ruzek the tray of chicken and vegetable kabobs, "The hamburgers and hotdogs are already outside, waiting to go on the grill. Can you take these out with you? Jay may need your help starting up the grill. Everyone's out there already." He adjust his hands around the tray as he makes his way outside; the music sounds louder when the door opens but it muffles down once it's shut. Erin lifts the aluminum foil from the platter covering the cupcakes Burgess brought and she looks up to her friend with a smile, "Oh they look so yummy," she lays the foil back down, "I thought we agreed on one dessert," the tone of her voice comes out as a whine.

"My mother said you can never have too many desserts."

Erin's hand smacks her forehead, "Your mother is going to make me gain all of the baby weight back. For your birthday last month, your mother made four desserts. She talked me into eating a slice of everything Kim and everyone knows my willpower when it comes to dessert is weak."

"She suckered you into it?"

"She sure did," Erin chuckled, "I started getting involved in mommy and me workouts. On a few of my days off, I take the baby up to the community center and I learned a bunch of workout routines that involves using your baby as a weight."

"Speaking of baby," Kim glances around, "where's my favorite human?"

"She's outside, but I must warn you," Erin starts, earning her friend's undivided attention, "She's with her Uncle Will and you know he likes to hog her."

Kim stomps like a petulant child, "Why?"

"Jay and I don't mind; we appreciate the break."

"Can't you go out there and order him to pass over the baby?"

"Sorry Kimberly, but first come first serve," she pats her friend's shoulder and watches in amusement as Kim drags her feet towards the back door.

"That's okay. As long as she learns how to say Aunt Kim before Uncle Will then we're fine."

"You all are ridiculous."

Dawson and Mouse arrive next; both holding a case of beer. Erin walks around the center counter and hugs both of her friends. The trio wishes each other a happy independence day before Erin is able to start handing them platters, "Okay, Dawson take the tray of corn on the cob, Mouse you take the bowl of sliced watermelon and I have the American flag cake. Everyone's in the backyard," she lifts the cake, "and I'm right behind you." She sticks close and thanks Natalie when she opens the door from the outside. The red, plastic table cloth is spread over the table, music is lowly playing and the kids are running around in the backyard. Jay is at the grill with Ruzek, and it's finally fired up with them laying food down upon it, "Looks good boys," she compliments, setting the cake down onto the refreshments table. Dawson and Mouse follow suit and set the drinks and food down as well.

"Is there anything else that needs to come out?"

"Yes," Erin answers Natalie, "there's a tray of mimosas inside the fridge."

"I'm on it," the doctor disappears into the house.

Now outside and enjoying the fresh air and the warm breeze, Erin continues to take in her surroundings. She hears Danny and Owen laughing as they kick a soccer ball back and forth. Atwater, Voight, Olinsky and Dawson are sitting at the backyard patio table with Will, Burgess and Olive; Atwater is shuffling a deck of cards as he along with Hank, Al and Antonio prepare for a game of spades. Will is content; he's seated at the table with the baby sat carefully on his thigh, closer towards his knees. The seven month old is facing her uncle and his large hands are wrapped around her torso. His knees lift up and down, moving the baby along with them; she grins and giggles every time she bounces. Natalie reappears with the tray of mimosas and hands one to each guest, "Thanks," Will takes a hold of his while holding onto the baby with his opposite hand. He takes a sip before setting the glass down.

"Are you going to hold her all day?"

Erin smirks as she overhears Kim's complaint, "Burgess, be nice. With his odd work schedule, he doesn't get to see her often. Let her uncle have some time with her."

"Right Burgess," Will repeats, lifting the baby into the air, "let me have some time with her." The baby's laugh was like music to their ears as they listened in to Will blowing bubbles against her tummy; her head tossed back as she laughed loudly. Natalie's heart warmed at the sight of her boyfriend being silly and blowing bubbles into his niece's stomach.

Erin takes a seat in an empty chair, angled to watch the spades game and watch her husband on the grill. She's sipping her mimosa as she watches the two teams put down their bids. Hank is hiding his cards, untrusting of anyone within sight of his hand. Erin takes another sip of her mimosa when she sees the backdoor slide open to reveal Annie and Todd stepping out of her house. Lindsay stands, "You guys made it," she walks over to hug her friend, "everyone this is Annie, some of you have already met her, and this is her boyfriend Todd."

A chorus of greetings echo around them as they wave for Todd and Annie to join them at the table. Natalie hands the couple a mimosa and initiates conversation as if she has met them before today. Erin walks over to the grill –Kim following behind- as they approach their significant others. Lindsay's arms wrap around Jay's waist and she leans her head against his back muscles, "Did I ever tell you how hot you look in an apron?"

"You've never told me that before," he whispers, flipping a hamburger patty, "it's probably because you've never seen me wear an apron."

"We've been married seven years and I've never seen you wear an apron," she replies, pressing a kiss against the back of his shoulder, "that statement doesn't sound right. That needs to change. What else haven't I seen you wear?" In her peripheral, she notices Ruzek talking to his fiancé, running his hand through her brunette hair and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. She's blushing. She's giddy. Burgess can't even make eye contact with her because of it. Erin tightens her hold around her husband's waist, "Look at those two," once she sees her husband look over, she continues, "can you believe this time next year they're going to be married? I want to say about time, but I don't want to jinx anything."

The couple hears a high pitched laugh exclaimed and squealed from the baby lying on Will's lap. Her bare feet kick in the air as he tickles her tummy. Jay and Erin watch in pure delight; they see Will kiss against the baby's bare feet and occasionally gnaw upon her tiny fingers and it only makes her laugh even harder, distracting the men from their spades game, they join in on the chuckles. Jay sets the tongs down and turns to face his wife, "We made a baby."

Dimples pierce into her cheeks as she smiles, "We made an awesome babe," Erin crosses her arms, leans into her husband's chest and watches her brother-in-law press kisses against the bottom of Haven's feet, "She's so fucking perfect."

"She gets that from my side of the family."

Erin elbows his stomach, "That's up for debate." She watches as Will presses one last kiss against Haven's fingers before handing her over to Natalie; he mentioned something about the bathroom and within seconds disappeared into the house. Erin grabs her mimosa from the refreshments table and walks over to reclaim her seat beside Natalie. In her peripheral, she can see her daughter staring at her and when Erin turns to meet her eyes, an open-mouthed grin appears. The table is on the next game of spades, but Mouse and Todd played against the last winning team –Al and Hank. Natalie stands with the baby in her arms and angles herself to show Haven the boys kicking the soccer ball back and forth, "Be careful kicking that ball! You guys are kicking it pretty close over here."

"Sorry mom," Owen calls out, grabbing the soccer ball and moving it further away from where the adults are sitting. He sets the ball back down and resumes playing with Danny.

Erin watches the spades game and she occasionally laughs when fun and lighthearted insults are tossed back and forth between the two teams. She sips the last remaining drops of her mimosa before setting her glass down. Jay continues to notice Adam and Kim in his peripheral; he clears his throat and extends the tongs towards Ruzek and once his friend takes them, he heads on over to his wife. Tugging gently on her ponytail, tipping her head back so he could lean down and kiss her, her head is upside down but it doesn't stop him from pressing his lips against hers. He doesn't care about whose watching, who's around and who might see. All he cares about is her and this current moment, the moment that eventually gets ruined when Natalie walks back over and extends the seven month old towards his wife, "She needs a diaper change."

"Come here mama," Erin claps twice and opens her hands; Haven sees and instinctively opens her arms and leans forward to be picked up by her mother. When Lindsay disappears into the house with Haven, Jay takes her seat. His leg bent and crossed over the other as he nurses the beer bottle in his hand, "whose winning?"

"Voight and Olinsky," Mouse answers, throwing out a card, "I'm starting to think they're cheating. How could they beat Atwater and Dawson? And it looks like they're going to beat us."

"I want to play in the next game," Will announced, walking back outside, "me and Natalie against the team that wins." He returns to his seat and sits. As the food continues to cook, Adam and Kim return to the table, pulling up chairs where there is room to fit.

"And that's game," Voight cheers, high-fiving Olinsky as they successfully win the second match, "Alright, shuffle and serve us. I hope you and Natalie came prepared to lose."

"You're about to lose your streak," Will retorts, stacking the cards before shuffling them.

"I admire your confidence Will, but you may have a bit too much of it," Voight asserts, lifting his cards as they're dealt, "I would hate to see you disappointed when me and Al beat you."

The team laughs at the friendly rivalry spewing between the two teams. Everyone wanted Voight and Olinsky to lose –they had won enough games. Erin eventually reappeared a few minutes after the game had started. With her husband in her seat, Jay pulls her into his lap. The baby is cradled in her arms. The back of her head is rested in the crook of her mother's arm while her other hand rests upon the baby's bottom. Erin peers down into her daughter's hazel eyes as the baby's active hands toys with her mother's necklace. It was the necklace with Haven's name inscribed on it. Lindsay brings her lips to ghost over her daughter's forehead; she feels Jay's chin rest upon her shoulder as his arm circles her waist, "I'm surprised she's not being fussy," she leans back against his chest and adjusts herself on top of his lap, "She hasn't whined for a bottle, a nap, a teething ring or anything. She's being extra good today."

"That's my girl," Erin whispers, continually watching her daughter be distracted by the necklace her mother rarely took off. Even when they were apart, it kept her close.

Jay pats his wife's thigh in order to hint towards him needing to get up, "The food is probably just about ready; I need you to let me up."

Lindsay stands and allows for Jay to slide out of the seat. When she retakes her seat, Annie slides her chair over, "She has gotten so big since the last time I saw her."

"You saw her more than a month ago," Erin quipped, bouncing the baby in her arms, "babies grow in a day so you know in a month she's practically bigger than me now."

"I know," Annie sighs, smiling down at Haven, "with the new job, Travis and my relationship starting to get even more serious, it's hard to find time to stop by."

"You owe me no explanation."

"I missed her a lot though," Annie replies, watching as Erin sits the baby up on her lap; Haven is looking at Annie, an apparent shady expression on her face, "I don't think she's too eager to come to me," she opens her hands and extends them towards Haven. The seven month old's bottom lip trembles and she curls into her mother's chest. Erin's hand ran over the few strands of blonde hair on top of her daughter's head before pecking the side of her face; she looks up at Annie when her friend tries again, "Why doesn't she want to come to me?"

"She probably doesn't remember you," Erin answers, bouncing the baby on her lap, "It's no big deal. I read about this in one of the baby books. Stranger anxiety will pass, but I'm more worried about when she starts to experience separation anxiety," she lifts the baby up and sets her on her knee closest to Annie, "That's mommy's friend."

"Maybe I should just go for it and pick her up."

"Give it a try."

Annie mentally counts to three and quickly scoops the baby into her arms. Haven wasn't reciprocal of Annie's excitement; the distress was clear on her face even as Annie tried to distract and play with her. Haven barely recognizes her. She hasn't seen Annie in what felt like a long time in her mind. To Erin it was over a month, but to Haven it was over a significant portion of her life. She had only been in the world for seven months and in the first few months, her memory wasn't fully processed at the time. She was weary of strangers. And when Annie attempts to play with her, she starts to fret and extend her arms towards her mother, "Sorry Annie," Lindsay scoops her daughter back into her arms, "you tried. Maybe you can talk to her while she's in my lap so she can start warming up to you."

"I've changed your diapers Haven," Annie spoke as if she was talking to a peer, "I've bathed you, fed you and played with you and you don't even remember me," she leans forward to be eye level with the baby seated on Erin's lap.

"I read that babies start to recognize faces around this age," Erin informs, feeling the playful baby squirm on her mother's lap in boredom, "mommy's face is the first that babies usually remember and then daddy's face followed by the faces of people who regularly come around."

"Travis is really going to flip his shit when he finds out she won't recognize him," Annie cracks a smile and looks over to see Jay carrying the baby's play-mat out of the house. The game is over –Voight and Olinsky having won once again and Mouse is following behind Jay, leaving the house and holding a few of the baby's toys in his arms.

Jay spreads the play mat on top of the grass near the table and their feet. Away from the grill and the table of food, the play mat was a few feet away from the stone ground the table sat on and on top of the cushiony grass. The food was done. The food was set on the table. Everyone was lining up, grabbing their plates and plastic utensils before making their way down the table of food. Erin bounces the baby in her lap and smiles up at her husband when he sets a plate down in front of her, "You didn't have to make me a plate," her eyes met his and she sighed in gratification when he pressed his lips against her forehead, "Your hands are full at the moment."

Erin stands when her husband ventures over to the food table to make his plate. Her arm is wrapped around the baby's waist and she carries the baby towards her play-mat. The baby's back is pressed against the side of Erin's hip as she walks towards the mat. Lindsay scoops her other arm beneath the baby's legs and sets her down onto her bottom. At seven months, she's sitting up by herself and reaching for the closest toy. Erin walks back to the table, watching her friends observe her sitting up like a big girl. Danny and Owen take their plates from their moms and take seats beside Haven, their soccer game on pause to take time to eat. Voight takes a swig of his beer before taking a seat between Erin and Olive; he's watching the baby, "She's growing up so fast," he smirks, observing the seven month old fall to her back and bringing her feet to her mouth. They're all watching and smiling while Danny watches them –frowning. The adults turn back to their meals and resume eating.

"So Olive," Erin takes a bite of her burger with a wide grin on her face, "have you been seeing anyone? Do you have any special guys in your life? Or girls," she shrugs, "whichever works for you and whichever makes you happy."

Olive swallows a bite of her hotdog, "I've tried the whole dating thing, and I'm done with it."

"Why?" This sparks Annie's interest; the guys purposefully start a different conversation at the other end of the table.

"It's pointless."

"I was the same way until I met Todd."

"No one's like Justin; he was perfect."

Erin nods, reaching her hand out and squeezing Olive's fingers, "There's no such thing as a perfect guy Olive; some guys just suck less than others. Justin would want you to be happy. He would want you to move on."

"I have moved on. I'm just not moving on to a relationship."

"Wait," Kim's eyes stretch wider in excitement, "Are you sexually active?"

Olive rolls her eyes, "I'm not even active. I meant that I've gotten through his death and I was willing to move on, but no one is as great as him."

"I'm sorry sweetie," Natalie assures, rubbing Olive's back.

"He died seven years ago and I want to date but he was perfect, you know," she whispers and the women nod in empathy, "he was my husband and he was the best father. I keep trying to put myself out there and date, but these guys…they're horrible. And if they're attractive, they're even more horrible. Fuck attractive people."

"Yeah, that's kind of the point," Erin's response earns the raised brow from the men. She shrugs, unbothered by the expression on their faces.

As the conversation continues and the adults continue eating, Erin gazes towards her daughter. The boys were finishing up their meals in order to quickly get back to their game of soccer. Her daughter was distracted, no longer by her feet, but by her toys. She's sitting up, holding a rattle and passing it over to her other hand; she's completely amazed by the sight and the sound of her toy. Haven shakes the toy and lifts another toy with her free hand, suddenly banging the two bright toys together. Erin is watching, but she's listening in on her friends and when Atwater says something quite amusing, she laughs. And Haven hears the familiar sound, her head whips in the direction and she faces her mom, meeting her eyes and smiling. Erin returns the grin. The seven month old twists until she rolls to her tummy, pushing herself up to her hands and knees.

She's in a crawling position; she's on her hands and knees, rocking forwards and backwards in an attempt to prepare herself. Erin's voice catches in her throat. She isn't moving but she's out of breath. The baby's eyes remain on her mother, the sound of Erin's laugh still in her head and she wants her. She wants her mother. The toys are no longer of interest. Owen and Danny went back to playing soccer. Her palms are opened and spread out on the mat and she's rocking, mouth open and grinning as she lunges forward. Erin unfreezes, "Jay," she calls, standing from her seat, "Jay, the," she's at a loss for words and simply points at the baby. He notices and it quickly registers; he pulls his cell phone out and begins recording. His wife stands at the edge of the mat, stooping low with her arms wide open, "Come here," she coos, "Come to mommy." And with a little more effort and incentive, she begins to crawl. Her knees slide against the mat and her palms move forward until she reaches her hand out to set upon her mom's knee, "That's my girl!" Erin scoops her up and the adults at the table clap. Owen joins in, but Danny silently watches. His arms crossed over his chest as he tries to get Owen's attention, desperately and impatiently ready to resume their game.

"Haven Halstead," Jay calls out, scooping the baby out of his wife's arms, "stop growing up on me," he presses endless smooches against her chubby cheeks. She smiles. He carries her over to his seat and retakes it between Ruzek and Atwater. The two detectives lean over and squeeze the seven month's olds cheeks until she's smiling even harder. She loves the attention. Babies can never have too much of it. Jay stands Haven on his lap on her bare feet. When he holds her up, she bounces and he occasionally leans forward to peck her nose or her forehead or her cheek or wherever his lips landed. Haven laughs every time. She stares at her dad's face, taking in every recognizable feature while he talks to the other adults at the table. Haven continues to bounce up and down on her chubby legs until Owen runs over, "Hi Havie!" He's enthusiastic and he takes her little hand in his, but she's hesitant; the smile on her face gone as she stares at the stranger.

"Owen, do you have the ball?" Danny calls out, waiting patiently for his friend to pick up the ball he accidentally kicked toward the table, "Let's finish playing!"

"How come she's looking at me like that?"

Jay looks at Haven's face before looking over at the little boy, "She's just a bit weary around strangers. It's nothing personal. You know how you get shy when you're around people you don't know?" Owen nods to answer Halstead's question, "Well that's how she is too."

"Owen, the ball," Danny calls out once again, crossing his arms.

Owen runs over to grab the ball from beneath the table. When he stands, the soccer ball held in his hands, he notices the look on his mom's face. Natalie isn't happy. The frown drops though when she notices the innocent smile on his face, "Watch where you two kick the ball."

"Yes mom," he calls out, running back to the grass.

"And be careful, both of you," Olive shouts, watching Owen kick the ball hard towards Danny.

Will returns from throwing his plate in the trash, "I'm ready," he rubs his hands together, "I want my niece back. Being a doctor, I get as much time with her when I can."

"She knows your face; you get enough time with her," Annie argued, still bitterly upset about her attempt at holding Haven. Will still lifts the baby from his brother's arms and walks over to his sit –between Burgess and Natalie- and he sits the babbling baby on the edge of the table in front of him, his hands wrapped around her torso and holding her up protectively. Her words aren't recognizable but she's talking a lot. In her world, she has a lot to say; they're all curious about what the seven month old could be thinking and saying. What is she babbling about?

"Haven," Erin calls out and the seven month old looks at the recognition of her mother's voice; she turns her head and smiles. The sun beams above them, shining on her dirty blonde hair, the beauty mark on her face and the dimples now appearing. She's the perfect blend of her parents.

The baby bounces and flails her arms excitedly, earning chuckles from Will and Burgess as they watch. The remainder of the adults resumes conversation with Voight and Olinsky bragging about their spades winning streak. Haven continues to bounce, looking over at Kim with the brightest grin which she returns. Her arms flail and she reaches for the empty plate in front of Burgess. It's her queue to throw it in the trash. She quickly leaves the table to discard it, only to come back and see the baby reach and knock over her mimosa. Will hops to his feet, along with Natalie; he brings the baby against his chest as the liquid spreads over the side of the table and starts to drip onto the stone ground. Erin looks at her kid, "Havie," she notices the baby's attention is on Burgess and Natalie wiping the mimosa up with paper towels. Lindsay approaches, holding a paper towel and using it to wipe down her daughter's wet hands, "The last thing I need is for you to put your hands in your mouth and have a taste of mimosa," she smirks, taking an offered baby wipe from Jay to wipe at the baby's palms.

"I'm playing against Voight and Olinsky in spades," he calls out, carrying the baby back to her play mat; he sits her down and hands her the closest toy, "It's time their streak ends," he presses a kiss to the top of the baby's head before returning to the table.

The American flag cake sits in the center now, having been brought over by Mouse from the food table. The red strawberries, the blue blueberries and the white whipped cream gave the cake the appearance and design of the actual flag. Halstead cuts the cake as the cards are dealt to the players. He passes around slices of cake to those who request them before catching a glance of the kids' soccer game, "Hey," he calls out, handing the next slice to his wife, "be careful out there, and steer clear of the baby."

Natalie looks up from her cards, "Make sure you boys do not kick the ball in her direction!" The kids nod and resume kicking the ball with just as much force back and forth through the yard.

"Say goodbye to your winner status," Will exclaimed, smiling proudly at his cards, "Natalie and I are some of the best spades players. I'll have you know during the slow nights in the hospital, this is how we pass the time."

"You're talking a lot of trash Will," Voight whispers, organizing the cards in his hand.

"I'm just trying to make sure the blow isn't too hard when you lose. I'm preparing you."

Olinsky chuckles, "He's confident too."

Haven watches the white and black ball being kicked back and forth. She drops the toy in her hand and continues to stare; she's entertained. She sits with her arms in front of her body; her palms open and pressed against the mat to hold her upright. It suddenly becomes her lucky day when the soccer ball rolls towards her. It comes to a stop on top of the play mat. Haven rolls to her crawling position, and attempts to move towards it. Her bright hazel eyes shine as she reaches out; she's still too far away. She rocks forwards and backwards before finding it in herself to move onward and crawl. Danny runs towards the ball, "Haven, no," he says through gritted teeth, "No, Haven," he leans over and pulls the baby's hand away from the ball. She reaches for it again, but he pushes her hand away, "Stop," he pushes her away and spotting Owen across the yard, he impatiently and annoyingly swings his foot back and strikes the ball mustering up the strength and annoyance coursing through his body.

Danny watches the ball fly into the air towards Owen while hearing the ear piercing scream of the baby. When kicking the ball, the side of his shoe hand went across the side of the baby's face. Her cries are mixed with screams and wails. Danny's eyes grow wide; he panics. He watches everyone look as his aunt rises from her seat, running up to him and the baby. There's a small cut on the corner of her lip –it's bleeding. Erin extends her arms and the baby is ready; she stretches her arms out and up towards her mom, ready to be lifted. And when Erin scoops the baby into her arms, her screams grow louder. It's intense and ear-splitting. It's earth shattering. It's full of pain as a drop of blood appears at the corner of her lip. Erin doesn't even notice Jay at her side, his hand on the small of her back as she bounces the baby in her arms. She pulls her daughter closer to her chest, presses a comforting kiss to the top of her head before steering her focus towards Danny; his eyes are staring down at the ground and when he looks up to meet her orbs, she speaks, "What did you do?"

"I kicked the ball."

"And it hit my daughter's face?"

He quickly shakes his head, "No!" Danny pouts at the expression on his aunt's face; the sound of Haven crying still straining their ears. She's being bounced in Erin's arms as Jay rubs her back. He sniffs and looks over to see Owen in his mom's arms, "She crawled towards the ball and I kicked the ball and my shoe hit her face."

Erin takes a step back. She takes two to create a needed distance between her and her nephew. She still loved him, but right now she's blinded by emotion and she's not thinking clearly. The overprotective mother that she is was in overdrive; her motherly instincts to protect her daughter against any and everything that has or will harm her –including a seven year old kid- was kicking in. Lindsay feels her daughter's head snuggle into the crook of her neck and she's about to walk away to request for Natalie or Will to take a look at her, but it's Danny's voice and words that pull her to a halt, "I told her to stop and I told her no."

"She's a baby Danny," the struggle to remain calm is present in Lindsay's voice. Olive rises from her seat to ensure Erin didn't step out of line with her son.

"I know she's a baby."

Erin takes a deep breath, "…then you should have known telling her no and stop wouldn't have worked. You should have either picked up the ball to move it somewhere else for you to kick or you should have called me, Jay, your mom or any of the other adults sitting feet away."

"I'll be more careful next time," Danny asserts, waving Owen over.

"No more soccer today!" Erin cuts in; she shakes her head and watches Owen snuggle further into his mother's arms, "No more running around! No more being rough! No more being careless! No more hurting my baby! It's time for you two to sit down and chill for a second!"

"You can't do that!"

"I just did!"

"I hate you!" His words cut deep, "I hate you!" He shouts it again before running off. Voight goes after him. The card game is an afterthought; no one is in the mood to play anymore. Erin is too mad to go after him. She's too upset to comfort him. She wants to, she does, but she currently has a screaming baby in her arms. Erin turns away from the running figures of Voight and Danny and walks towards her house; Natalie leaves her son to follow her into the house.

Halstead spots Voight catching up to Danny and tugging on his hand; the two of them going for a walk around the neighborhood so the little boy can cool off. Jay's arms are crossed over his t-shirt and when he turns to head back towards his house, he runs into Olive standing right in front of him, "I hope both of you are happy!"

"We're not doing this," his face is stoic, it's expressionless. It's scary. To not know what he is thinking or feeling and the fact that he has yet to say anything is scary. Olive doesn't notice. She's never seen him like this before and Will does want to warn her, but he's just as pissed. He pushes past Olive and she stumbles before grabbing his arm and using all of her weight to turn him around; a glare in her eyes, "My son is crying because of your wife."

"My daughter is crying because of your son."

"We both know that Danny didn't do that on purpose!"

"No one said he did," Jay argued, "just because it was an accident doesn't take away from the fact that my daughter was carried into the house bleeding and crying! Come on Olive," he says through gritted teeth, "cut her and I some slack! Everything she said needed to be said!"

"It could have been handled differently."

"How about you worry about your son and let me worry about my wife and daughter?"

She crosses her arms, "You're being ridiculous!"

"Olive, I am NOT about to stand out here and argue with you while my kid is in there crying!"

"Kids play rough! Kids get hurt!"

"I get that," he says through clenched teeth, wrapping his hands around her upper arms, "I really do, but," he slides his hands away from her and clasps them together, "she's seven months. She just started crawling. She's nowhere near walking. She didn't do that to herself. Haven didn't trip, she didn't fall and she didn't hit her head against something. That could have been avoided and nothing you can say can justify what happened."

"He's a little boy."

"I know which is why I didn't say anything to him. It's why I didn't go after him. It's why I didn't yell or threaten him. I know it was an accident; it was a mistake, but that doesn't magically make my baby feel better."

"Erin didn't have to talk to him like that."

"We can stand here and go back and forth because I'll always defend my wife or you can go after your son while I check up on my daughter." He doesn't give her the time to decide; he makes the decision for the both of them. Jay turns away from Olive and jogs towards his house, stepping inside with Will following behind.

Jay walks into the living room to find his wife sitting on the couch with Haven on her lap. Natalie is stooped down in front of them with the first aid kit opened beside her. Haven continues to cry and when Erin looks up to meet his eyes, he discovers her orbs are just as watery, drops of tears slowly rolling down her face, "How is she?" Jay finds himself nervous as he approaches, "Should we take her to the hospital?"

Natalie dabs at the drop of blood on the corner of the baby's mouth, "I checked her over. The brunt of the kick hit her mouth and not her head. She'll be fine," the doctor dabbed some ointment onto the corner of the baby's mouth as Haven continued to scream, "Just look out for any swelling, trouble breathing or vomiting; if she has any of the three bring her in. Will," she looks over at her boyfriend, "can you put some ice in a washcloth please." He nods and disappears.

Erin uses the back of her hand to wipe her eyes, "She won't stop crying."

"She's just scared. It's completely normal," Natalie informs, closing the first aid kit, "She's irritable and I'm pretty sure her mouth hurts. She doesn't understand the pain and she'll continue to cry on and off until it subsides. Thanks," she takes a hold of the washcloth filled with ice and dabs the corner of the baby's mouth; she wails louder, "I know this hurts sweetie; I'm sorry," Haven's cries start to subdue; she's hiccupping and sniffing, "You're being such a big girl now. Hold this Erin," Lindsay's hand takes a hold of the washcloth held against her daughter's lip as Natalie stands, "It stopped bleeding so we know it's not deep."

Erin uses her free hand and runs it through the few strands of her baby's dirty blonde hair before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Natalie disappears out of the house to check on her son. Halstead takes a seat next to his wife, rubbing his hand over her back; he spots Will, eyeing the baby and taking in the sight of her red lip; he's examining her himself to ensure Natalie didn't over look anything. When he steps back and nods, he knows she'll be okay. Will turns to head back out until he hears Jay call out his name, "Do you mind taking the baby's high chair out with you? She's probably getting hungry." Will does as requested without any complaints. Once Will disappears, Haven starts crying again; the back of her hands rub against her eyes and she leans her head back against her mother's chest, wailing loudly and burying her head into the fabric of her mother's shirt. She's seeking comfort and when her mother readjusts the cold washcloth against her lip, she starts calming down.

Jay stoops down in front of his wife; his hands set upon her thighs and he runs his palms over them. Erin's lips are lingering against the top of their daughter's head and he watches a tear drop fall from his wife's face and land upon their daughter's onesie. Jay leans forward and presses a kiss against the center of the seven month old's head, calming her down; he draws back and looks up at his wife, "How are you?"

"I'm okay."

He grips his wife's chin and focuses her head in his direction, "I'm going to ask again. This time give me an answer with a little less bullshit," his eyes met hers as he repeats, "How are you?"

"Why is it so difficult to keep a seven month old baby safe?" She rhetorically asks; her voice is fragile as the baby continues to squirm against her mom's chest, "I thought the problem was going to be keeping her from accidentally killing herself by sticking her finger in a socket or drinking house cleaning products; I didn't think the problem would be other people."

"He's your nephew Erin," Burgess appeared, "And he's seven and he's sorry." Jay rolls his eyes in irritation at Kim's sudden arrival. He drops his hands from his wife's lap.

Lindsay looks over her shoulder to meet her friend's gaze, "I know and that's why I'm not out there wringing his neck. That would be the worst thing."

"Yeah, let's steer clear of threatening and harming seven year olds," Kim snorts.

"And Olive would hate me."

"She sure would; just like you would hate it if someone wringed your daughter's neck."

"Whose side are you on here?"

Burgess walks further into the living room, "I'm on Haven's side." She takes a seat beside her friend and scoots in closer to look over the baby. She's no doctor but she wanted to look to assure herself that she was fine.

"I can't argue with that," Erin shifts in her seat and adjusts the washcloth against the baby's lip, "Now, isn't this the part where you're supposed to give me some advice?"

"Probably," Kim shrugs, scratching at the tip of her nose, "all I can say though is move on. This isn't the first time she got hurt and it won't be the last."

Halstead holds his hands out for the baby and her tear stricken eyes brighten up as she leans into her dad's open arms. Erin doesn't have the heart to put her daughter down. She doesn't have it in her to release the baby but she knows that Jay needs her just as much as she does. Against every fiber in her being, she lets the baby go and watches as her husband scoops the little girl up, pressing his lips against the side of the baby's head as he wraps his arms around her. Lindsay bends her legs and brings her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and leaning her forehead onto her knees, "Seeing your child go through pain," she whispers to Burgess, "is one of the most heartbreaking things to see as a parent," she looks up and runs her hands down her face, "I saw the blood on her lip and all I saw was red. I didn't mean to upset him, but she's a baby Kim and she's not just any baby, she's my baby."

Jay is rubbing circles into Haven's back; the washcloth no longer on her mouth since the ice within it had melted. He's whispering sweet words into her ear, words that the baby doesn't understand, but it doesn't stop her from sniffing and hiccupping as a few tears streamed down her face. Erin pouts at the sight of a scratch against the corner of her daughter's mouth and the start of a light bruise forming along her jawline; her breath hitches in her throat as she stares, "Oh gosh," Erin bellows, slapping her hand against her forehead, "Jay, people are going to think we're abusing our baby! They're going to think we're beating her!"

"No they're not. If it were me, I wouldn't sweat the small stuff," Kim rebuffs.

Her head quickly turns in her friend's direction, "Look at her fucking mouth Kimberly," Erin's hand swings in the direction of the whining baby, "She can't walk. People are going to know that she didn't fall and hit her mouth on something. Oh gosh," she runs her hand down her face, "I'm such a bad mom! What mother can honestly say that their baby had been kicked in the fucking face? My kid is seven months and in her first year of life she survived a serial killer, was locked in a hot car and was kicked in the mouth by a seven year old!"

"It'll just give you a bunch of stories to tell her when she's older," Kim offered, providing her with the bright side, "imagine the badass stories you can tell her about what she's overcome. And I know you're upset, but you have to remember it was an accident. He didn't mean to kick her. She was just in the way when everything happened and it all happened so fast."

Erin nods, sliding her thumbs beneath her eyes, "Jay, what do you think?"

When his wife calls his name, he doesn't respond. His nose is pressed against the top of his baby's head as he calmly and peacefully breathes in her scent. That fresh baby smell was soothing. He wanted no part in the conversation; he just wanted to hold onto Haven and never let go. Erin folds her arms over her bent knees, "Jay, what do you think?" She repeats her earlier question with a frustrated eye roll.

"I think it's no point in talking about this," he retorts; his cheek presses against the baby's cheek and she sighs in comfort and content, "I think Burgess doesn't understand," this earns Kim's attention, "I think it's easier for her to tell you what to do and how to feel because she's not in the situation. I think it's easy for her to comfort you and tell us what she thinks we want to hear because she's not in our shoes. However, no matter what she says or does, nothing has changed. Haven is still hurting and Kim's self-righteous comments aren't doing anything but pissing me the fuck off."

"Jay…" Erin whispers; she's borderline speechless. She looks from her husband and towards her best friend. Kim simply nods and stands from her seat with her arms crossed defensively across her chest, "I'm sorry. I thought I was helping you out here."

"You're helping us out by telling us to get over it, to move on minutes after my daughter got kicked! I get it if it's been days or weeks and we're still holding a grudge but come on Burgess, seriously, stop; it's been less than an hour and we have a right to be upset. Stop undermining our feelings!" He says through gritted teeth; his daughter finally rests her head in the crook of his neck and he lowers his voice even more, "You keep saying if it were you, if you were the parent, but you're not," he rises to his feet, balancing the baby in his arms, "I know Erin is all like you have Haven and she's your pseudo-daughter, but she's not," Kim and Erin's mouths are agape, "She's not your daughter. She's not your kid. You don't have any so don't act like you do when trying to channel maternal advice that you don't possess." He bounces the baby in his arm and Erin remains frozen in her seat on the couch, "We know it was an accident. We never said it wasn't. And I know we'll eventually get over it, but she's a baby Burgess. She didn't know any better. And for you to say she was in the way makes it sound like it was her fault, but it's not. She was sitting on her mat. She was playing with her toys. THAT BALL was KICKED and it LANDED near her! It landed on HER mat! She had every right to be there."

"I know, but I was just saying because she crawled towards the ball," Burgess calmly attempted to defend her earlier comment.

"She's seven months old! She doesn't know any better! If a toy is kicked and it lands near a kid, what baby wouldn't crawl towards it? She can barely crawl so we know it didn't land far away from her! I'm not mad at Danny. My heart goes out to the kid because he probably feels bad. I'm mad at people like you and Olive trying to tell me and my wife how we should react, what we should say and what we should do like it was your fucking daughter that was kicked!" He storms off, holding the baby protectively in his arms. Her eyes watch her mom and Kim as she is carried further and further away. Erin looks up to meet the eyes of her best friend; Kim is in shock, she had never been spoken to like that from Jay.

Lindsay drops her legs from the couch and she pushes up off the cushions to stand. She approaches Burgess and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, "He didn't mean it."

"Yes he did and that's okay because he's right."

She wraps her hands around Kim's upper arms and holds her friend tight, "Haven's your baby."

"That's sweet of you to say," Kim whispers, wrapping her arms around her friend, "but it's not the same and that's why he's right. I can bring her presents, spend time with her, love her, feed her and change her diapers but you'll always be her mom."

"That's true but you're her family too."

"You gave birth to her," Burgess sighs, holding Erin in a tight hug, "You carried her for nine months and gave birth. I'll never know what that's like."

"Between you and me, it's no walk in the park." The two pull out of the hug.

"It's worth it though, right?"

Erin nods, "Yeah. I'm sorry for what Jay said. You might agree with it but it doesn't make it right and it doesn't make it hurt any less."

"I've come to terms with it."

Erin quirks a brow, "Have you?"

"I can't get pregnant, I don't want to go through the strenuous process of adoption and I can't afford a surrogate," she mumbles until a light shines in her eye, "unless you-"

She doesn't finish. Erin immediately shakes her head, "As much as I love you and wish I could, I don't have it in me. That's one of the reasons why I only want one kid."

"I understand," Burgess clears her throat and nods, "It was just a thought. And besides, Ruzek is adamant that he doesn't want any children. He says we can get out kid fix through Haven."

"She can never have too much love."

Kim nods, "I'm counting on it." The two begin walking towards the back door, "I'm also counting on the times when she's a teenager and you and Jay get on her nerves so she calls her favorite aunt –me- to spend the night at my house to escape you two."

"That's only if we say yes," Erin reminds, opening the back door, "let's not forget, mama and daddy have the final say in all of that."

"Don't hinder me from being the cool aunt."

Erin chuckles loudly as they depart the house. Her eyes are still red and moist from her earlier tears, but a smile has taken over her expression. The highchair is set up near Jay's seat and he's struggling to put the baby inside. Every time he sits her down, she starts to cry until he picks her back up. An unopened jar of baby food –mashed squash- sits on the table, waiting to be opened and fed to the hungry infant. Lindsay and Burgess walks over and Jay's eyes follow them as they approach, "I'm sorry Burgess," he whispers, attempting to sit the baby back in her highchair, "You didn't deserve that and I apologize."

Once again when he sits her inside, she starts to cry. She's in no mood to be alone. She wants to be held and comforted. You can't spoil a baby. You can never give a baby too much love and attention. With the small bruise forming at the corner of her mouth, a light scratch embedded along her bottom lip and the evident pout forming on her lips, he couldn't deny her. Once he would sit her down, she would fret and extend her arms until he picked her back up, "I'm just going to hold her. I don't think she's hungry right now."

"Yeah, the baby just wants some love right now," Natalie chimed in.

Erin and Kim retake their seats just as Voight walks over with Olive and Danny. The seven year old avoids eye contact with his aunt; he attempts to run over to Owen, but Lindsay grabs his wrist, gently tugging him over towards her, "I'm sorry buddy. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"You hurt my feelings," he whined, crossing his arms over his chest, "I'm sorry for kicking her, but you didn't have to yell at me."

"And I'm sorry for that."

He nods his head, "She always gets me in trouble," he stomps his feet, "And you brought her to the batting cage when I said I just wanted you, mom and grandpa to come."

"I'm sorry Danny," she tugs her nephew closer and pulls him into a hug, "I was going to leave her with Jay but he got called in to work. I didn't have anyone to watch her."

"You could have left her."

Erin smirks, "She was four months old buddy."

"We don't have fun when she's around."

"We had fun today, didn't we?"

"Yeah," he whispers, glancing over when he hears the baby start to cry again, "but she ruined it."

Erin pulls out of the hug, "How about we start over?"

"How can we do that?"

"I apologized to you," she says, running her hand through his short, brown hair, "how about you apologize to Haven? And then we can try to forget this whole thing happened."

Danny nods; his mother proudly smiles as she watches him approach the baby crying on Jay's lap. He pats the top of her head, "I'm sorry Haven," he leans forward and presses a kiss against her cheek. She starts crying even harder. The ache in her cheek sends waves of pain through her face. He jumps back, looking over his shoulder to meet his aunt's eyes, "I don't think she likes me anymore. She cried louder when I gave her a kiss."

"She's just sad," Jay responds, lifting the baby's hand to press a kiss against her palm, "and she's a little sore. She's a bit cranky too."

"I'm sad and cranky too," Danny reminds, walking over to grab his soccer ball from beneath his grandfather's seat, "It's not always about Haven."

Olive waves him over, "We know, but you have to remember that your cousin is a baby and baby's crave lots of attention."

"It's not fair though," he remarked, pouting when his mother takes the ball from him, "and since she came, it has always been about her."

"Be nice," Olive warned.

He took his ball back from his mother, "I only got in trouble because she was in the way; it's her fault. It's always her fault," he kicks the ball across the yard, "I wish she wasn't here."

"That's enough of that," Olive reprimanded, avoiding the looks from Erin and Jay. She focused in on her son in an effort to evade their gaze. Danny doesn't say anything else; he silently runs off to grab his soccer ball to play by himself in the backyard. His attitude is obvious; he's jealous of Haven. He resents her. For seven years, he had been the only kid in the family and received as much attention as he wanted. Now, he'll be eight in a few months and there's a baby in the picture. Everyone loves babies; he can't compete with that. He's not a baby anymore. He doesn't get picked up and held. He no longer has the title of being the baby in the family; she stole that from him and he didn't like her for it.

Olive sighs, resting her elbows against the table and burying her head in her opened palms. She was a single mother. She was raising a son and she took it one day at a time. She's never done this before and she honestly had no idea what she was doing. Most people didn't know. Parents take it one day at a time and hope that they luck out and their kid becomes successful, productive members of society. Haven eventually calms and sniffling takes the place of her cries. Her eyes travel around in search of something or someone to focus on. She spots Kim dragging a chair up to her ready to dangle a toy in front of her face. In an attempt to cheer her up, she squeezes the toy and listens in as the doll begins to sing her alphabet. Haven's unimpressed though. She's not smiling at the toy or giggling at the noises it makes after finishing the alphabet. Kim decides to try another method, "Here," she extends the toy and Haven feels the impulse that pushes her to reach forward and grab it, "Yay," Kim claps excitedly.

A smile fails to reach Haven's face. She takes the toy and brings it over to her mouth. When she parts her lips, they quiver and she immediately closes it. Her bottom lip trembles and her misty eyes drop silent tears down her face. She drops the toy and Burgess picks it up, "Uh oh! Here you go," the toy is extended once more. Haven takes a hold of it and it slides between her fingers and falls to the ground, "Uh oh!" This pulls a slight smile onto Haven's face and once the toy is in her hold, she drops it again, "I know what you're doing," Kim laughs, earning a bigger smile from the baby, "I won't hand it back to you if you drop it again." And just like the last time, once the toy is clenched in Haven's hand she drops it with a chuckle.

Jay uses the smile and chuckle to his advantage as he quickly sets the baby in her highchair. Their friends look over and applaud the act and Haven for staying put as he locks her in the chair before reaching over to grab her baby food jar of mashed squash; it's one of her favorites. Erin takes one last look at her nephew; she knows he's acting out but it's not her job to do anything about it. He's not her son. There's a line between what she's allowed to say and do and what she isn't. She turns away from the kid when Owen runs back out to play with him. Erin walks over to tend to the kid that is hers, the one she has control over. When she watches her husband bring the spoon to their daughter's mouth, making airplane noises as he does, they both are shocked to find her mouth remain closed. For a seven month old, her mouth was practically always open. She was willing and ready to put everything in her mouth whether it was food or not. Jay tries to fly the spoon in again, hovering it inches away from her lips, "Come on ladybug," he pleads, "it's one of your favorites," and when she opens her mouth, he feeds her the spoonful and a whine immediately follows the bite. Halstead draws the spoon back quickly, looking over to his wife.

Natalie answers instead, "Her mouth is sore. It probably hurts when she eats," the doctor rises from her seat and approaches the baby, "it's possible she bit her tongue when she was kicked."

"Are her teeth okay?" Erin asks, crossing her arms as she moves closer.

"Her teeth look fine to me," Natalie responded, gently holding the baby's mouth open as she examines, "She did nip the side of her tongue a bit. It's nothing serious, but to her it probably feels like her world is ending. She's not going to eat anything until the pain dies down some."

Erin, Jay, Natalie and Kim go back to their seats and resume eating their slices of cake. Haven seems to be occupied, playing with the spoon her dad set down onto her highchair. She's distracted for a few seconds until she grows bored, throwing the spoon to the ground while whining. She's extra cranky. She's irritated and fussy. Erin looks over, debating on actually getting up to get her or leaving her to calm down on her own. She takes another bite of her cake when Annie's boyfriend –Todd- stands, "Since you're eating, I can get her," he offers, approaching the highchair, "Do you mind?"

Lindsay and Halstead look at each other before simultaneously answering, "…not at all."

Todd eagerly rubs his hands together before extending them towards the baby. She turns away, drawing back and crying louder. He grabs the toy she dropped earlier and extends it, attempting to find another way to get the little girl to trust him. She still pulls back, sniffing through her tears; he drops his arms, "She doesn't want to come." He sets the toy down onto her highchair as Annie walks over.

"Thanks for trying; you can just leave her in there for right now," Erin replies, hearing the cries of her daughter start to calm. Annie wants to give it another shot though; she finishes her cake, throws away the plate and crosses her fingers as she approaches the seven month old, "I can get her."

"Are you sure? You already tried getting her earlier today."

"…maybe she remembers me now?"

As Erin goes to throw away her plate, she keeps an eye on Annie who is currently attempting to figure out how she can pick Haven up without causing her to cry. However, Haven's stranger anxiety was obvious; it kicked in her fight or flight instincts as she began to protest erratically. Annie steps back; her feelings are hurt but she doesn't let it show, especially when Dawson comes to pick the baby up with ease. She gave no fuss; she actually quieted down the second she was in his arms. Erin squeezes Annie's shoulder, "It's nothing personal. Her pediatrician explained it to me and Jay. It's not separation anxiety; that's when she throws a fuss at being separated from me or her dad, it's called stranger anxiety. And when we took her to the doctor's, she had a new one because hers was out sick that day and when Dr. Webber went to pick her up, she started throwing a fit, crying, turning red and I was so embarrassed. I started apologizing and the doctor told me it's normal. The more she cried and screamed at him not to pick her up, the more he applauded her and said you go girl, protect and stick up for yourself. It's just her defense mechanism; it's all babies' defense mechanisms. After all, why should she trust you if she doesn't know you? Why should she give you the time of day? She's protecting herself."

Annie sighs, accepting Erin's explanation, "I need to visit more."

"Yeah, especially since she's starting to remember faces now."

Haven sits upon Dawson's lap, reaching for the jar of baby food on the table. She's hungry. He bounces her in his lap as Jay runs into the house to rinse off the spoon she dropped to the ground. As he's in the house, Dawson takes it upon himself to place the baby back inside her highchair; she doesn't fight it. She knows when she's in the chair that food is what follows next. When Jay returns, he steps back, grabbing his car keys out of his pocket, "I should be heading out," he sends a wave to everyone, "I'm supposed to be meeting up with Brett at the firehouse."

"Happy Independence Day," the group simultaneously calls out as he departs. Jay slides his seat closer to the highchair and tries once more to feed her; this time she opens her mouth and accepts the spoonful of mashed squash.

"Yay," Erin claps to acknowledge her daughter's good deeds. Haven grins and claps her hands in return before suddenly pouting when fed the next spoonful. It was told to the parents by the baby's pediatrician that she can start eating more baby food, but she must continue to drink breast milk or formula until her first birthday. The pout on her face is obvious; her bottom lip quivers as she tries to hold in her cry. Erin looks over to Natalie, "Poor baby. She can barely eat; her mouth must really hurt."

"Do you have any baby Advil mouth drops? That'll help with the pain."

"We actually do have some from a month ago when she had a fever," Erin states, switching spots with her husband as he offers to go grab the medicine, "It's in the cabinet in the upstairs bathroom." The baby's day had started off so good and cheerful; she's normally a happy baby, but with the pain shooting through the side of her mouth, it was hard for her to remain her bubbly self. When she grows even fussier, her mother stands to get her, lifting her and bringing her up to her chest to press a kiss against her forehead. It's the most she can do until the pain subsides.

Erin adjusts the baby against her; Haven's head rests gently against her mother's chest. Her legs are spread open and dangle as her mother's arms are wrapped around her bottom. She had cried so much that she was starting to get tired. Lindsay brushes her nose against the top of her daughter's head, enjoying that baby smell before pressing continuous kisses all over her daughter's face; it was comforting her. By the time Jay returns, she had quieted down. He followed the instructions and dropped one dose of Advil mouth drops into her mouth while his wife rocked her back and forth. This was probably the first time in seven months –the baby's whole life- that she didn't fight sleep. Lindsay begins rubbing calming circles into her daughter's back when she sees the soccer ball fly towards the table; Natalie stands abruptly, having been caught off guard by the ball landing near her, "No more kicking the ball around!" She orders, waving her son over, "We should be leaving anyway. We have to drop Owen off at his grandmother's house so they can go see the fireworks later. And Will and I have a late shift tonight."

"We should be heading out too," Annie speaks up, pulling her boyfriend to his feet, "I'm meeting his parents today so wish me luck." Choruses of good lucks are announced around the table.

Danny drags his feet over, obviously upset that his friend has to leave. He sees the baby sleeping peacefully in his aunt's arms and he pouts more. His mother is holding the soccer ball, ensuring that he can't get it back while his grandfather goes to cut himself another slice of cake. Natalie and Will wish everyone a happy Independence day before she walks over to Erin, running her hand over the baby's small fingers, "Call me or bring her in to Chicago Med if she starts vomiting or experiences any swelling. If she's still fussy after a day or two then bring her in just to be safe."

"Will do," Jay asserts, patting her back, "Thanks again." He waves Annie, Todd and the small family a farewell as they disappear from the back of the house. Lindsay walks over to the table and takes a seat between Danny and Atwater; she watches her nephew eye the soccer ball in his mom's hands and when he reaches for it, she moves it away, giving him a warning eye.

He frowns and crosses his arms over his chest, "This is all her fault," he glares at the sleeping baby.

"It's the not the baby's fault," Mouse replies, speaking up calmly to defend the little girl, "It's just the game is a little rough right now. You should try playing a different game."

His legs swing back and forth, "Owen's gone. I have no one to play with and I like soccer and baseball and my mom wouldn't let me bring my ball and bat." He doesn't remove his eyes from glaring into the side of the baby's head. Her uninjured cheek rests against her mother's shoulder as her quiet breaths keep her in a blissful state of slumber.

Olive looks over to meet Erin's eye; they're both thinking the same thing and noticing the angered expression on his face. He hops out of his seat and runs towards his grandfather, approaching to request for him to cut him a slice of cake. Once her son leaves, Olive shrugs it off, "It's just a phase. It went from being just Danny to him and Haven. He's used to having all the attention and now he has to share it," she smiles when the baby stirs but remains asleep, "He has to share it all. And she's seven months and she's absolutely adorable; that's hard to compete with."

"It's not a competition," Erin whispers.

"He's just jealous," Olive responded, setting the ball down near her feet, "He used to have all of your attention; Voight's too. Now he has to share it." The conversation ends when Voight approaches the table with Danny trailing behind, both holding plates of cake.

Voight pulls out his seat, "We should be heading to the carnival soon, especially if we want to catch a few rides and then get a good seat for the fireworks."

The guys and Olive helped clean up the backyard as Erin remained seated, rocking the sleeping baby in her arms. She watches Danny as he avoids looking at her. She didn't expect this from her nephew, maybe if he was Haven's older sibling he would, but not her nephew, not when he had a mother of his own to give him all the love and attention he desired. After the backyard is straightened up, Atwater heads out to meet up with his girlfriend; Olinsky goes to spend time with Lexi and Michelle while Mouse leaves to tend to other family arrangements.

Erin had gotten lucky; she didn't have to help with cleaning up since she's currently rocking the sleeping baby in her arms. It gave her a pass. Erin had risen from her seat, balancing the infant in her arms as she goes into the house. After buckling Haven into her car seat, she begins to pack her diaper bag. By the time she's finished, everyone's back in the house and ready to go. She lifts the handle and extends it to her husband, "Here you go."

As Jay takes a hold of the car seat, he watches Danny impatiently stand near the front door. He was bouncing up and down, absolutely too excited to go. However, the longer he waited, the more irritated he got at the fact that they weren't leaving yet. He runs over to his mom and starts tugging her hand; she chuckles at his excitement but mellows him down with her next comment, "Relax sweetie, we'll leave once Erin grabs an extra onesie for the baby." Danny releases her hand and a pout forms along his mouth; he tries to hide it but Olive can see through it. She wants to comfort him but she knows that he needs to learn everything isn't always about him and everything won't always go his way. He needs patience. And the pout and the attitude seem to last during the car ride to the carnival and even after they bought tickets.

Olive wasn't bothered by it so Erin and Voight didn't feel the need to acknowledge it. Lindsay has her hands wrapped around the handle of her daughter's stroller, pushing her through the stream of people. Occasionally they stop to get on rides, taking turns to stay with the baby as they do. Olive and Voight weren't fans of rollercoasters so anytime they passed one the two couples –Lindsay and Halstead and Burgess and Ruzek- hopped on. Danny was too short to ride which seemed to upset his mood even more. Erin and Jay high-five as they lead the way back towards their family, "I got through that rollercoaster without screaming," Her husband gave her a fist bump, "Kim cried like a baby."

Ruzek chuckled, "Nah, her reaction was worse than a baby."

"I'm going to remember that," Kim retorted, crossing her arms grumpily.

"Uh oh," Erin snickered, pulling out the baby's bottle and leaning into the stroller to feed her; she adjusts it in a way for Haven to be able to hold it up herself, "somebody's in trouble."

Adam wraps his arm around his fiancée's waist, "I'm not in trouble, am I?" He presses a kiss against the side of her cheek and when she doesn't respond, he nervously frowns, "Am I?"

"You're lucky I can take a joke," Burgess remarked; the smile on her face stretches wide and meets her eyes. She leans into him and presses a light kiss against the scruff of his facial hair.

"What's next?" Danny bounces over, scanning the park with his brown eyes.

Olive looks as well, "Good question sweetie; what should we do next?"

"That!" Danny exclaimed, pointing towards another ride. He grabs his mother's hand and begins dragging her towards the next ride while occasionally looking over his shoulder to check and see if his aunt and grandfather were following. Initially they were until Haven started getting fussy; his grandfather still came, but Erin went back to tend to her baby. It took away some of his joy; he had fun on the ride but not as much as he would have had if his aunt had joined them. He missed it being just them four –him, his mom, aunt and grandfather.

When they arrive back to Erin, Jay, Kim and Adam, they soon begin heading towards the next ride. Danny walked alongside his aunt as she pushed the stroller; his eyes fell towards the baby, lying inside, drinking her bottle and babbling to herself. It wasn't fair. He pouts even more. And when they approach the next ride, Erin is distractedly digging through her purse in search of her next ticket while Danny eases up to the stroller. He angrily reaches into the stroller and rips the bottle from Haven's mouth and drops it near her feet. She can't reach it. Her eyes are sad and there's a frown on her face. Danny feels slightly guilty and before he's able to give her back her bottle, she starts crying, alerting her parents to her discomfort. Erin leans into the stroller and grabs the baby's bottle, "Alright ladybug," she puts the bottle back in the baby's mouth and only lets go when Haven's small hands grip it, "There's no point in crying over spilled milk; you just dropped your bottle." There were only a few drops left, but once she finished it, Erin placed it back inside the diaper bag.

As they head towards the next ride that Danny points out, Erin spots a face painting artist beside the ride decorating the face of a little boy. When they arrive to the ride, Danny begins tugging his mother's hand towards the line; he eagerly awaits the rapid ride as his grandfather and Adam walk on over. His eyes fall to his aunt; she's taking Haven out of the stroller and approaching the face painter, "Aunt Erin," she looks over at her nephew, "aren't you coming?"

"I'll pass," she answers, watching the little boy in front of them run away with lion whiskers painted on his face, "Have fun," Danny pouts and nods, turning to stand in the short line. Jay is handed a catalog by the painter and both he and Erin look through it, "Let's steer clear of bunnies. I don't need the constant reminder of my mother painted out on her face."

Jay chuckles and points to a photo, "How about this?"

"A kitten," Erin whispered, grinning at the picture, "How adorable." She turns to the painter, "We would like this one for her." Lindsay takes a seat on the stool and positions the baby on her lap. It took longer than necessary, only because it was difficult to strategically paint a baby's face while she constantly moved and fidgeted on her mother's lap. Jay managed to keep her attention by standing behind the painter, holding up her favorite doll and speaking in an animated voice to bring her toy to life.

The painter finished her small face up with a few whiskers on her painted pink nose. As Jay paid, Erin turned her daughter around to face her; both feet on the lowest bar of the stool as her hands adjusted their grip around her daughter's torso. Erin leaned forward to peck the feline ear painted at the edge of her forehead, "I have to say Jay," she looked over at her husband, "I think I found the cutest cat. Can we keep her? Pretty please…"

He smirks, "You know what they say about cats; once you feed them, they're practically yours."

"Is that a yes?"

And the second he nods, Erin bounces off the chair, lifting her daughter into the air and earning a hearty chuckle from the seven month old. Her loud giggles are heard as Danny, Olive, Voight and Ruzek rejoin them. All oohing at the sight of the cute baby's painted face just as Erin puts her back inside the stroller. Before they set off towards the next ride, Jay hands the infant her toy doll and starts pushing the stroller just as the little girl begins gnawing upon her doll's hand.

The family approaches the next ride; it's one that Olive had been looking forward to getting on. She left her son's side, grabbed Burgess and Lindsay's hands before pulling them towards the short line. The men remained at the stroller, Jay and Adam sitting on the bench with Voight as Danny kicked rocks away from his feet. He looked over at the baby; the stroller is parked beside her father and Haven is in her own world. She's chewing upon the stuffed doll's head, gnawing against the fabric until it's soaked. She's not bothering anyone and she's entertaining herself. The baby's babbling and squealing happily until the doll is yanked from her; she looks up to meet her cousin's hard gaze and he throws the doll to the ground. Her bottom lip starts to quiver, she's on the verge of tears and before she's able to start screaming, her toy is handed back to her with a wide smile from Ruzek. Eventually he turns back to Jay and Voight to resume their conversation when he sees Danny in his peripheral; the seven year old is upset, arms crossed over his chest and as the baby begins laughing, kicking her legs in excitement and squeezing her stuffed doll's head, it's yanked from her again. And as he drops the toy to the ground again, Adam catches it, "Hey kid, quit it," he hands it back to Haven as Jay looks over.

"You're not my dad."

"Have you been doing that this whole time?"

"Leave me alone," Danny remarks, spotting his mother; he runs over to her with open arms and she greets him with a confusing hug. She had no idea where it came from. Olive pressed a kiss above his head before grabbing his hand and walking over to join the rest of their family and friends.

Jay meets Adam's eyes, questioning him silently over what happened. Adam simply shakes his head, deeming it unimportant to bring up. He would just keep an eye out on Danny. The seven year old seems to be acting out. Jay didn't argue with Ruzek's choice to remain silent. He knew if it were important then his closest friend would bring it up. Olive wraps her arm around her son's shoulders as they approach, "Danny wants to go to the petting zoo."

"That sounds like fun," Erin agreed, earning a bright smile from her nephew, "I bet Haven would loving seeing and petting some of the animals," the smile on his face disappears. He felt Ruzek's eyes on him but he ignored it by grabbing his mom and aunt's hands to tug them in the direction of the petting zoo. Jay is left pushing the stroller, occasionally looking down to see the baby babbling while sticking her feet in her mouth; the socks on her feet are no longer there, now they rest on the side of her stroller. Erin laughs as her nephew impatiently yanked them towards the fence, locked inside are goats, pigs, sheep, rabbits and donkeys. Danny was quick to approach the fence, bouncing in anticipation as he waits for the gatekeeper to unlock the fence, "You need someone with you that's 18 or older."

"I'm his mom," Olive approaches, squeezing her son's shoulders before they enter the area.

Erin has the baby on her hip; the infant's bare feet dangling as her painted face looks around, "Are you sure this is safe?" Her question is for the gatekeeper and he nods to answer her question, "Are you sure? I mean…I get the older kids can do it," she nods towards her nephew petting a goat, "but she's a baby. Are there no age restrictions? I know kids have to be with an adult, but is there a minimum age? What if an animal bites? Have they received the proper shots? And what if-"

"Erin!" Olive interrupts from inside the fence, "Stop acting like a first time mom and get in here!"

The gatekeeper unlocks the fence and allows the couple to enter with their young daughter; Jay throws his arm around his wife's shoulders as they walk inside, "We're such first time parents," he chuckles before pressing a light kiss to the top of his wife's head, "How about we start her off small? There are the bunnies…and instead of thinking of your mom, think of that cute, adorable photo of you when you were a little girl cuddling a bunny. That might be Haven in a few years."

Lindsay crouches low and sets the baby on her knees as Jay lifts a bunny and carries it over. He stoops down in front of his wife and baby and sets the bunny on his lap before petting it, "Look ladybug," he holds the small animal out towards her and her rough hand comes flying to grab it's fur.

"Be gentle," Erin chuckled, pulling her daughter's hand away; she holds Haven's hand and carefully brings it back to the rabbit, "nice and soft, see?" Haven babbles and Erin nods along as if she understands every sound and baby word gurgled. Haven is no longer entertained by the rabbit; she's staring at the goat walking behind her dad and out of excitement, she lifts her finger and points at it eating from another child's hand, Erin simply smiles and nods, "You want to see the goat."

"Are you going to let her feed it?" Kim asked, approaching Erin from behind. Haven heard the familiar voice and looked away from the goat to glance at Burgess. She was met with a smile that she returned.

"Last time we gave her food to feed an animal, she tried to eat it," Jay remarked, glancing around the animal enclosure for an animal that currently wasn't occupied. When he spotted a donkey at the far end of the enclosure, he leaves his wife's side to approach the animal, "Hey buddy," he pats the space between the donkey's ears, "Er, bring her over."

Erin straightens herself out; she stands with the baby's back pressed against her chest. One of her arms is around the infant's torso while the other is beneath her bottom as she carries her over. The donkey shook its head as it started to feel cornered, earning the attention of the gatekeeper, "Be cautious around him; he's a kicker," he unlocked the gate and allowed a few more people to enter.

"Why even bother having an aggressive donkey in here?," Erin mutters to her husband; the hand beneath the baby's bottom moves to pet the top of the animal's head, "This poor fellow probably wants to stretch his legs and run around. Instead he's stuck in here with kids poking him and pulling on his ears," she adds, watching how the other kids treat the animals. She's holding her daughter against her with one arm while the other continues to rub and gently scratch behind the donkey's ears.

Haven claps her hands as she watches enthusiastically as her parents and Kim pat the donkey while talking to it as if it could respond. The baby loved it. Erin began rubbing the hair beneath the goat's chin, "I bet that feels really good," she says, watching as the baby in her arm tries to reach out, "You want to pat the donkey too?" She guides her hand to the top of its head, "be very careful." With each pat, rough by the baby and gentle by the adults, the donkey started to calm; he was no longer on edge. Before they could even attempt to move on to the next animal, Danny was running over to them, "We're ready."

"You're bored already?" Erin asked, turning to face her nephew; the baby's hand was still roughly patting atop the donkey's head, "We've only seen two animals."

"I saw every animal in here already."

"…even the donkey?"

Danny shakes his head, "No, all the animals, except for the donkey. The gatekeeper says the donkey is a little wild and no one likes it because it looks weird."

"That's not nice."

The seven year old shrugs, "It keeps doing its mouth like that," he nods towards the donkey flashing its large teeth, "I don't like it. Anyway, we're ready to head over to the games." Erin looks up to see Olive waving them over and Danny excitedly takes a hold of Lindsay's free hand to start pulling her in the direction of the exit. She's looking back and forth between the exit and the donkey and when Haven's hand separated from the top of the donkey's head, she started crying.

Erin halted. She tugged her hand out of Danny's hold to use it to tend to her baby. She rocked her. The pacifier clipped to her onesie was used to try and silence her, but she spit it out. Erin pecked the side of her head. And she cried and whined, desperately missing her furry friend until Jay played a game –twice- and managed to win her a stuffed donkey. She couldn't tell the difference, at least that's what it seemed like when her eyes lit up with the same excitement they held when looking at the real donkey. Jay locks the wheels of the stroller as his wife sets the baby inside; she's occupied by squeezing and gnawing upon the stuffed donkey. The adults turn to watch Voight, Ruzek and Olive battle it out on the next game. Erin is leant against the wall, hand wrapped around the handle of the stroller as she cheers on Voight. Danny is unable to watch; he's upset. No one won him a toy. He peers into the stroller, meeting Haven's bright, hazel eyes and when she releases her stuffed donkey and extends her hands to him, he growls. He didn't want her hand. He didn't want her. He wanted her to leave him alone. And when his eyes meet hers once again, he sees the innocence and the happiness within them. Both hands are in the air, directed towards him as she waits patiently; Haven gives him a smile, dimples piercing her cheeks as she waits for him to play with her. He doesn't. When he sees his aunt release the handle of the stroller to clap her hands to celebrate Voight's win, he bends low and unlocks one of the wheels, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kim shouts, running over to the stroller before Danny had a chance to unlock the second wheel.

He quickly straightens up, "I…I didn't do anything."

"You were unlocking the wheels on her stroller!"

"No," he shakes his head to deny Kim's accusation, "I wasn't. I was just," he pouts before running over to his mom, throwing his arms around her hips to bury his face into her waist, "I didn't do anything."

Kim looks up to meet Erin's eyes, "I saw him. Check the wheels on her stroller."

Holding Kim's stare, Lindsay bends low to check the wheel –it was unlocked. She doesn't say anything. She's torn about what to do. She wants to react; Haven was her daughter but Danny was her nephew and he was just a kid. That wasn't an excuse though. You have to nip it in the bud right away before they get older and the behavior progresses. Erin decides to let Olive handle it; she turns to her sister-in-law and gives her an affirmative nod of the head, signifying that what Kim said was true. Before Olive could say anything, Ruzek approached, scratching the back of his head, "Earlier I caught him taking the baby's toy from her and throwing it on the ground."

With his arms still around his mother, he looked up; chin resting on her stomach, "No I didn't mommy!"

"Guys, he wouldn't lie," Olive whispered, calmly inserting herself into the conversation, "if Danny said he didn't do it, he didn't do it. He's seven years old. Seven year olds would never do something like that."

"If they're jealous, they would," Jay remarked, eyeing the little boy currently playing innocent, "What reason would Burgess and Ruzek have to lie? Your son already kicked my daughter in the mouth and-"

"That was an accident!" Olive defended, wrapping her own arms around Danny, "I don't know what reason your friends would have to lie, but I believe my son!"

Erin continues to remain silent; she finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place; Voight too. She knows that Jay will handle it and instead of focusing on what she should say, she focuses on her oblivious daughter currently entertained by the dressed up animated characters walking along the walkway. Jay scoops his daughter from his wife's arms and Erin snaps back into the conversation, "If you're going to accuse my son of something he didn't do, we'll just leave."

"Olive wait," Voight asserts, stepping forward, "let's just finish having a good time. Let's go catch another ride, play another game or do something." She's frustrated but she gives in. She nods. She allows Danny to pick the next one to cheer him up after hearing a bunch of adults 'accuse' him of intentionally harming his cousin. Danny grabs his mother's hand and his grandfather's hand before tugging them towards a ride he had been eyeing since they arrived at the games. Everyone followed, but no one else joined. Jay kept his daughter in his sight for the next few rides; he was completely unwilling to leave her unattended when Danny was around. It was when they approached their tenth ride of the day that they stopped for a bathroom break.

The seven year old remained outside with his mother, grandfather and Kim. Haven was back inside her stroller, giggling as Kim moved her stuffed donkey around. Voight heard her laughs and walked over, peering inside the stroller to tickle his granddaughter's waist; she laughed harder. Danny grunted, crossing his arms over his chest as he moved towards Voight, "Hey grandpa, I bet you can't beat me on that game over there," the grin on his face falters when he discovers Hank remained distracted by the chuckles of Haven. He only looked up for a split second, met Danny's eyes and gave him a thumbs up before turning back to the baby. It wasn't fair.

Danny crosses his arms over his chest and flops down beside Burgess on the bench. She's searching through her purse for her sunglasses as Voight and Olive glance at the carnival map in search of where the fireworks will be displayed. Danny still hears the baby squealing and chuckling. It isn't fair. How can she be happy when he's not? Danny stands and takes another look at the adults to ensure they were distracted, "Where are my damn sunglasses?" He hears Kim as she takes each item out of her purse.

"It's in that direction," Hank pointed behind him.

His mom shook her head, "No, it's over there. Look right here on the map." The seven year old uses the opportunity to reach into the stroller and pinch Haven's lower arm. He got away with it once; he can get away with it again…only this time, he didn't expect for his aunt, uncle and Ruzek to be leaving the restrooms and catching him in the act. They all saw. And as Haven starts crying, Erin picks up her speed and runs over; she still remains quiet, gently scooping her baby up and bouncing her in her arms. Erin's in shock. During the last time, she wanted to believe that maybe Kim had confused what she had saw; she wanted to give Danny the benefit of the doubt, but this time, she saw it with her own eyes. She maybe couldn't have seen her baby in the stroller, but she saw the look on Danny's face as he reached inside, did something and quickly pulled out in fear that he may get caught. She saw the look on his face and she heard the cry that followed whatever act he had just done. Erin spots Kim, looking up from her belongings to see Erin pressing a kiss to the center of her baby's forehead, "What happened?"

"What happened?" Olive repeated, walking over. Her son immediately wrapped his arms around her hips and latched on, burying his head into her stomach, "Sweetie, what happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Jay interjects before allowing the kid another chance to lie, "your son made my kid cry and don't you dare try to deny it! I saw it! Erin saw it! Ruzek saw it!"

"I…I don't understand," Olive stutters, rubbing the top of her son's head; his arms remain wrapped tightly around her, "Danny wouldn't do something like that. He wouldn't purposely hurt another person, a baby, Haven…he …he wouldn't do that. Erin," she looked over to meet her sister-in-law's eyes but Lindsay said nothing in response, "Hank," she looked at her father-in-law, "this is unbelievable."

"Mommy I didn't do it," his words were muffled as he whispered it into the fabric of her shirt, "I swear."

Jay bit against his bottom lip; the sound of his crying daughter only increasing his anger, "He did it."

"Listen to me Jay."

"No you listen to me," Halstead retorted, taking a step towards Olive only to be pulled back by Erin, "all day your son has been bullying my daughter. All fucking day Olive. No more. He kicked her in the face and because he keeps lying I don't know whether or not he did it on purpose. He snatched her toys. He unlocked the wheels on her stroller. He keeps trying to hurt her. And that's not okay. There's no justification for that. Your son is bigger and stronger and he's a bully," his eyes avert towards the little boy snuggling his face into his mother's waist and he kind of feels bad, but he's so angry that no other emotions are able to break through, "You either get your son to stop or you keep him away from my daughter because as long as I'm breathing if someone hurts her, they'll have me to answer to."

"What are you going to do Jay?" Olive argued, holding her arms around her son, "Curse out a seven year old? Are you going to hurt his feelings? If so, then that makes you a bully too."

Halstead rolls his eyes, "You're missing the point. My daughter can't talk and she can't walk. She has absolutely no way of defending herself; she can't run away when he starts picking on her and she can't come and tell me or her mother when he's bothering her. All she can do is cry. Look at her Olive," he asserts, pointing over his shoulder; he watches the woman's eyes fall towards his whining baby.

Olive eventually tears her eyes away and looks down to the top of her son's head. She takes both of her hands and runs it through his hair," Danny," she whispers softly, using her hand to gently grab his chin and urge him to look upwards, "Tell us what happened."

"You don't believe me?"

She sighs and leans forward to peck a kiss against his forehead, "I believe the truth and that's why I need you to tell me the truth. I won't get mad. I promise."

"Pinky promise?" He holds up his pinky and she wraps hers around it. Danny draws back and stares down at the ground, "I didn't kick her in the face on purpose, but I did knock her bottle and toy out of her hand and I pinched her," he looks ashamed and apologetic.

"Why would you do that?" Jay struggles to remain calm when posing his question.

"Everything is always about Haven."

"So you figured hurting her would make it less about her?" Danny shakes his head and Jay continues, "It can't always be about you Danny. And hurting someone to get what you want is wrong; it's not the way to do things. What did you expect to accomplish?"

"I don't know," he wipes his eyes. Danny backed away from his family; his mom reaches out for him but he managed to slip out of her grasp. He took off, while remaining in his mother's eye sight, he ran over to another bench. He throws his head into his lap and silently cries. Each adult watching from afar and Olive passes a glare over her shoulder in Jay's direction, he sighs, "I can go talk to him."

"He's my son," Olive says, holding her head up proudly, "I should talk to him." She takes a deep breath before walking towards him.

Jay's hands run slowly down his face as he releases a loud sigh; his eyes eventually avert over to his wife who had managed to calm the baby down. She's staring at him and he's unable to read her expression. It's intimidating. To not know what his wife was thinking was frightening; it may not have been his place to say anything to Danny but he couldn't help it. He saw red. And he just acted and spoke without thinking. Biting down onto his lip nervously, he steps towards his wife, cupping the side of her face with one hand before speaking, "I'm sorry Erin."

"Why are you apologizing?"

He runs his thumb over the smooth skin of her cheek, "…for what I said to your nephew."

"You don't have to apologize for that," she asserts, leaning into his warm palm, "It needed to be said."

"Maybe I should go talk to him."

She grabs his hand to stop him, "Let his mother handle it." They look over at Olive, sitting next to Danny with her arm around his shoulders. His face is buried into his mom's chest and she's trying to get understandable words out of him. She pecked the top of his dark hair and gently eased him out of her arms, "You know I always have your back, right?"

Danny sniffs, "If that's true, why are you taking their side? Why are you taking Haven's side?"

"I'm not on anyone's side," Olive corrected, pressing another kiss to the top of his head.

"You're on her side just like everyone else."

She sighed, "Daniel, there are no sides. I just want you to be honest with me. Tell me the truth so I can help. What are you feeling? Why don't you like your cousin?"

"I don't like sharing the attention," he spats, crossing his arms across his chest, "I liked being the only kid in the family. I want to go back to that."

"We can't always get what we want."

"Why?" He looks up at his mother with his big, brown eyes.

Olive pulls her son closer and two lean back on the bench, "…because life isn't like that. Life is unfair. And it's never too early to realize that we can't always have things our way," her head leans to rest on the top of his, "Haven is just a baby Danny; she hasn't done anything wrong."

After that response, he pulls away, sliding to the end of the bench and away from his mother. He shakes his head, denying his mother's words. Danny begins sniffing again and when his mother moves closer, he turns to look at her, "She has two parents. She has a big family. I don't have that," he wipes his eyes with the back of his hand, "She's stealing you, Aunt Erin, Uncle Jay and grandpa away from me."

"I'm your mother," Olive asserts, gripping her son's chin to force him to look her way, "I'll always be your mother and I'll always love you. I'll support you and I'll be there for you. You're the most important person to me and you're the number one person in my life." She can see her son prepared to respond, but Olive shakes her head to stop him; she wanted to finish talking first, "Voight will never forget about you; he holds one of the biggest parts in his heart for you Danny."

"What about Aunt Erin and Uncle Jay?"

"Erin and Jay are Haven's parents. She's first for them like you're first for me," she carefully explains, easing her hand away from his chin, "That doesn't mean they don't love you. There's enough love to go around. You need to just remember that your aunt and uncle as Haven's parents will always protect her and when she is hurt or is about to be hurt, emotions come and we say things we don't mean to say."

"We get mad and we say things we don't mean?"

Olive nods to answer his question, "Think about earlier today; you said you hate your Aunt Erin, is that true? Did you mean what you said?"

"No," he shakes his head, "I was mad."

"And are you feeling better now?"

"No, not really. I just feel like I don't fit anymore. I used to be the only kid and I was the baby and now I'm neither. I'm just there."

"You're the oldest," Olive informs, taking a hold of her son's hand, "and that means that you'll be able to do so much stuff before she can. She can't play soccer or baseball. She can't eat table food. She doesn't have any friends like you do. She's not in school. She can't dress herself. She can't do a lot of things that you can," her hand squeezes his tenderly, "And Danny, you're her big cousin. You're her protector."

This intrigues him, "I am?"

"And as her big cousin, you're supposed to make sure no one pick's on her, no one is mean to her and no one hurts her. And if you do that, she's going to grow up looking up to you; you'll be her hero, but if you keep treating her the way you are doing now then she'll grow up hating you; she won't like you at all. Do you want Haven to hate you?"

"No, I want to be her hero."

"Heroes know when they do wrong."

He bows his head, "And I did wrong."

"You did," Olive nods.

"I'm sorry."

Olive stands and pulls him to his feet, "I'm not the one you should apologize to." She takes a hold of his hand and they walk over together. Voight and Burgess had disappeared to the restroom while Ruzek was sitting at the bench eating cotton candy. Danny feels confident enough to approach but the second his mom lets go of his hand he loses the confidence. He lowers his head and drags his feet towards his aunt.

Erin notices him; her arms around the bottom of her baby and she tightens her hold. Her eyes struggle to withhold the emotion begging to shine through. He looks apologetic and she feels for him, but when he reaches his hand to touch the baby, she found herself turning the baby away. It was instinct. It was unplanned. All she knew was Danny's hand was coming to touch the baby and she pulled the infant away.

"He came to apologize," Olive spoke up after noticing the look cross her son's expression.

Lindsay hated herself for this, but it needed to be said, "Danny apologized at the house already and this still happened." Her eyes are full of emotion and she found herself unable to deny Danny any further. She had a soft spot in her heart with his name written over it. Erin hands Jay the baby before turning back to her nephew, "Be honest with me Danny, okay?" he nods and she continues, "I promise I won't ask anymore after this. When you kicked Haven, did you do that on purpose?"

"No, I promise."

"I believe you."

"I just wanted you to notice me again," His large brown eyes look up to hers and he smiles when she sets her hand upon his shoulder, "I feel like ever since she came, you stopped noticing me."

Lindsay stoops low and draws her nephew into her arms, "Danny, I am so sorry. I'm sorry sweetheart," her hand pressed against the back of his brown hair as she pecked his cheek, "I never wanted you to feel like I stopped noticing you. I would never do that. You're my nephew; my only nephew and I love you and no matter who comes into my life that will never change." His arms immediately circle around her and he buries his face in her hair, "Danny if you ever have a problem with anything I do, tell me. I can't read minds. I won't know what's bothering you unless you say something. Don't suffer in silence. Okay?"

He nods, "Okay."

"Promise me?"

"I promise."

Erin draws back, setting her hands against the sides of his face, "I love you," she pressed a kiss against his forehead, "I love you a lot."

"I love you too," he replies, before turning to face the baby in Jay's arms; he steps forward and hesitantly extends his hand, "Do you think she'll forgive me?" Haven leans towards Danny's offered hand, thinking the little boy wanted to pick her up.

"It seems she already has," Erin observed her nephew leaning forward to hug the baby in Jay's arms; her eyes avert over to Olive and a quiet conversation plays between the two, apologies are silently shared and they avert their eyes back to Danny as he tells the baby, "I promise to be your protector. I'll be your superhero Haven."

"Her superhero?" Jay smiles, peering down at the two kids' interaction.

"Yeah, kind of like you and grandpa are my superheroes, I'll be hers."

Olive and Erin smile again. They watch as the seven year old leans forward and press a kiss against the baby's nose. Haven giggles, she seems to be enjoying it; she has no recollection of anything that he did. He holds her hand and moves it around, bringing it up and down and side to side in a playful manner until Kim steps in, "Guys, I hate to ruin this nice moment, but we should be heading over. We want to get a good seat for the fireworks show, don't we?"

Danny releases the baby's hand and begins jumping up and down, excitement and energy coursing through his seven year old body as he begins clapping his hands, "Yay," he's hopping up and down, earning giggles from the baby, "wait until you see the pretty fireworks Havie, you're going to love them!"

The seven year old skips ahead of them, leading the way towards the open, green-space. He's eager and excited, excusing himself through the crowd of people as he looks for the perfect seat. When he sees an opening, he waves his family over before running towards it. Olive speeds up to keep him in her line of sight, "I swear he has enough energy for all of us." Erin's straggling behind, pushing the empty stroller through the grass as her husband walks ahead, holding the alert baby in his arms. She's looking back and forth, watching kids play and adults chat; she stares at the people whose body is painted in red, white and blue shouting out their love for their country and chanting USA. Haven looks up to meet her dad's eyes and points, "USA Haven!" The baby giggles.

Erin locks the stroller's wheels before grabbing the folded blanket in the compartment beneath the stroller. She spreads out their blanket as Ruzek and Burgess does the same. Danny had already spread out their blanket before Erin even arrived to their spot. The seven year old's shoes were off and he was sitting on his mom's lap, looking at the patriotic Americans entertaining the crowd. Jay remains standing, angling Haven in his arms to give her a better view of the scenery; she's clapping her hands as people dance around to pass time until the fireworks show starts. Wrapping her arms around Jay, Erin leans her head against the back of his shoulder, "Should we get comfortable on our blanket?"

Jay nods and follows the lead of everyone else by kicking off his shoes and walking onto the spread out, maroon colored blanket. He takes a seat, legs open with his wife sitting in the center; she's leant back against his chest and his arms are around hers. Their daughter sits to their left, distracted from the entertainment around her by the appeal of her bare feet; she lifts one up and rolls onto her back, sticking her little toes into her mouth.

Burgess and Ruzek are in their own world, cuddled up on their blanket with her head resting on his chest and his hand running up and down her arm. Occasionally, he looks down at her and presses the softest kiss against her forehead. Voight, Danny and Olive rest on another blanket; Danny is sitting on his knees, Olive's legs are crisscrossed and Voight is lying on his back with his fingers intertwined over his stomach. Under his head is his backpack providing a cushion for his head to rest on, "The sun is almost completely set," he commented, earning an excited bounce from his grandson, "The fireworks show is going to start once it's dark out."

Jay's hand runs casually through his wife's hair as they watch their distracted daughter roll from her back onto her stomach. She lifts her head and pushes herself up onto her knees, "Go baby go," Erin cheered, clapping her hands, "Go baby go!" Haven rocks back and forth on her hands and knees, mouth agape and hazel eyes wide open and scanning her surroundings. The baby lunges forward and lands on her face; she's not hurt, she lifts her head and gets back into the crawling position and manages to move the few feet towards her mom. Haven lifts one hand and sets it onto her mom's thigh, "Hi baby," Erin lifts the baby up and pulls her towards her chest. Pressing her lips against the crook of her daughter's neck, she laughs when Haven giggles and extends her hand behind herself to touch her mother's face, "You have no idea what you're in store for tonight little girl," Erin whispers, wrapping both her arms around the seven month old.

The announcement is made once the sun finally sets. A few streetlights illuminate the pathway and the faces of the observers, sitting patiently for the show to begin. Erin and Jay sit up straight and separate; she places the little girl –with the painted kitten face- up between her and her husband. She sits like a big girl; hands holding her feet as she looks around. That's when the first firework shoots into the dark sky and emits a loud boom as it sparks and breaks into a fiery red, white and blue bloom amongst the stars. It's a beautiful sight; it's one that could have been appreciated more if the sound of fireworks shooting into the sky didn't startle the baby. The baby's cries are deafening and she turns to crawl onto her mother's lap for comfort, "it's okay lady bug," she coos, drawing her daughter into her arms, "look at the pretty lights."

Danny notices and crawls over, "What's wrong with her?" He rubs his cousin's back.

"I think she's a bit scared."

Fireworks continue to explode in the sky, vivid and bright colors and shapes appear overhead as the patriotic colors ignite the dark sky. Danny crawls to sit beside his aunt and extends his hands towards his cousin, "Can I hold her?"

"Sit up a little," she directs, carefully placing the whining baby in her nephew's lap, "put your arms around her like this," Lindsay directs his short arms around Haven's waist, "Perfect." Danny's mouth falls to Haven's ear, whispering words that are unknown to everyone around them. The baby continues to cry until she stops; Danny's pointing up at the fireworks and then holds her hands to force her to clap. She sniffs and laughs and continues to clap her hands, now mimicking Danny doing it, "Yay!" He cheered, "I did it. I got her to stop crying."

"You're like a baby whisperer."

Danny nods and adds, "And I'm her big cousin."

"That's right." Erin looks over her shoulder, meeting her husband's gaze. He opens his arm and she slides back, curling into him and snuggling her face against his shoulder. She's unable to see Danny and Haven, but they're lined up perfectly in Jay's vision. Haven is settled. She just needed the comfort and the love of a child. The stream of red, white and blue lights cut through the black sky, earning gasps, oohs and aahs from those observing the show. There's never a dull moment; once the fireworks start to fizzle out, a new set are shot into the air, bursting into other unexpected assortments of colors like green, yellow and pink. Each one draws a pattern –some recognizable and some not- but regardless, they are beautiful and unique.

Erin cuddles further into her husband's arms; her wide eyes watch the fireworks above them and the only reason she turns away is because she feels her husband's hand softly grasp her chin to urge her to look at him. He says nothing, just stares, and she takes it upon herself to speak, "I can't think straight when you look at me like that," she brings her hand up to cup his face; fireworks completely forgotten as she gazes into his eyes, "If you keep looking at me like that-" she doesn't get a chance to finish when his lips connect with hers. His teeth gently bite down onto her bottom lip, tugging onto it as their action is masked by the darkness. He tugs his teeth onto her bottom lip more aggressively until she emits a moan, and fortunately for them it was covered up by the sound of the loud fireworks above them. Everyone's distracted by the decorated lights, sparkling high above them and illuminating the darkened sky. Erin's hand comes to caress the side of his face, "We're in public," she reminds him, leaning back a few inches; he follows after her lips and sways forward, ignoring her attempt at pulling away. She leans down, capturing his lips once more, sighing into his touch before drawing away for good, "…later," her hand presses against his chest and she pushes him back, "when we get home."

"I look forward to it."

Their attention is turned back to the fireworks show; it's the finale, one of the best parts of the entire show. Multiple fireworks shoot up to the sky, creating patriotic designs with various colors surrounding them. It's overwhelming. And normally Jay and Erin would continue to watch but the sight of their engrossed daughter captures their attention. Her hazel eyes are as wide as they've ever seen them before and they can see the reflection of lights sparkling in her orbs as she stares up at the fireworks. Her mouth is agape and her hands rest at her side, no longer searching and reaching for things within sight. She's distracted. She's absorbed by the fireworks show. She isn't interested in Danny or her stuffed donkey. She's not fidgeting or trying to crawl out of her cousin's lap to get to her parents, she's content and enjoying the fireworks glistening above her. And just as soon as the show started, after an hour, it had come to an end.

The sky is clouded with foggy smoke from the fireworks as families begin packing up their blankets and bags. Jay doing the same as his wife rolls over to scoop the baby from her nephew's lap and onto her own. She maneuvers the baby around in her arms until she has a good grip and then hops to her feet, "Did you like the fireworks Danny?"

"I loved them!" He exclaims, running over to grab his shoes. He bounces around in excitement as he watches his mom fold their blanket. Erin holds Haven, who is currently still looking up at the sky, expecting to see more fireworks as Jay collects their belongings and places them in the compartment beneath the stroller. He pushes the stroller behind Ruzek and Burgess, following them towards the parking lot. Voight is holding his grandson's hand, entertaining him with a story about Justin's first time seeing fireworks. Erin keeps up with her husband; she's currently holding the baby in one arm and the baby's stuffed donkey in the other. Now that the show is over, Haven reaches for her stuffed animal and pulls it out of her mother's hand and towards her open and salivated mouth, gnawing down upon its ear.

By the time Erin reaches the car, Jay has already folded the stroller and placed it inside the trunk of the car. He opens the backdoor, awaiting his daughter's arrival to place her inside her car seat. Danny and his mother rode in with Voight so he knew this was goodbye or see you later to his aunt and uncle. He hugged them both and he grinned when Erin leaned the baby over so he could peck her cheek, "Bye Haven," he waves and backs away towards his mom. He's distracted as he backs away and only comes to a stop when his back bumps into his mother. He waves again at Haven, smiling as she squeals and kicks her legs in delight. Burgess and Ruzek hold hands, wave at their friends before heading over towards their car. The Halsteads are the last to leave. It took time strapping a seven month old baby in her car seat, making sure that her bottle was in her lap, her stuffed donkey was within reaching distance and that she was content long enough for the car ride home. And by the time they're home, she's exhausted from all of the events of the long day and has fallen asleep in her car seat.

"Want to get her ready for bed while I do the mountain of dishes in the sink?"

Jay eagerly nods, "You don't have to ask me twice." He makes his way towards the staircase, carrying up the car seat. He walks into their bedroom and takes the tutu and onesie off their daughter and then carefully washes the paint off her face. He lies her onto her back in the center of their bed and snuggles the stuffed donkey in her arm. During their car ride, they agreed for her to sleep in the room with them to keep an extra eye on any possible symptoms Natalie wanted them to watch out for; it would be easier to do that with her close by. The baby sleeps in her diaper, a thin yellow blanket stretched over her body as she sleeps peacefully in the center of her parents' bed. Until they come upstairs for the night, Jay grabs the pillows and positions them around the edge of the bed, making sure that if she rolled, she would have a barrier of pillows blocking all opportunities for her to fall off the king-sized bed.

As he's upstairs, she's tending to the pans, the silverware and the empty bottles inside the sink. Cleaning them out with a dish sponge and soap before lining them up in the dishwasher, adding the soap and closing the door before pressing start, Erin sighs in exhaustion, gripping the edge of the counter and leaning forward, releasing an exhaustive sigh. Her eyes cast downward and she notices the water stains on her American flag tank top. She had been in such a rush to wash dishes that she wasn't careful where the water was falling. She looked up, eyes staring out of the window to see the reflection of her husband approaching. His arms circle around her waist and his mouth begins assaulting the crook of her neck. She brings her arm up behind her and curls her fingers into his hair, "You're going to leave a mark."

He briefly stops, "I know," another kiss is pecked against her red and tender flesh, "That's kind of the point of all of this." She suddenly gasps and throws her head back when his teeth press down against the flesh of her neck.

Over the last month, he had been working through his jealous tendencies. She knows that most of the sex they've had was to exert that overwhelming urge of jealousy. He was a work-in-progress. And she had rather he got it out this way instead of embarrassing her in public by starting an argument by muttering some slick comment about the wandering eyes from a guy feet away or the unintentional flirt from a man she isn't even interested in. When the kiss against the side of her neck intensifies with the added burn of his teeth, she knows what he's doing; he's branding her. He's marking her as his own. And when she opens her eyes and stares forward at their reflection in the window, she sees this primal look in his eyes as he tears into the crook of her neck. She's unable to deny that his possessiveness and his greed appeals to an immoral urge and dissolute need in her. Initially when he first started acting so possessive and controlling in the bedroom, she had wanted to reject him out of some feminist, radical notion of being her own woman, in control of her body and every aspect of her life, but her body and her response to his control betrayed her every time.

Jay lifts his head to examine his work; it's dark and red. His light feather kisses drag along her sensitive skin; his lips brush over the bruising mark imprinted upon her neck. And he looks up to meet her eyes in the reflection of the window; his gaze is heated and he finds a raw emotion within hers. His eyes connect with hers; they're both gazing into each other's orbs through the reflection of the window. His hands graze down her body, circling around her hips to unbutton her red, jean shorts. With each second that passes, he slides them further and further down her toned legs, until she steps out of her flip-flops and her shorts. Suddenly, he turns her around and wraps his arms around her waist, leaning his head down to finally press his lips against hers. She strips him of his shirt and discards it near her pants. Sighing into the kiss; her fingers toy with the hair at the nape of his neck. Their bodies are pressed together, chest to chest, waist to waist and toe to toe, and her fingers eventually trail down his neck and his back until they rest around the band of his pants, tugging the material downward, "This needs to go."

Crossing her hands at her waist, she lifts the hem of her shirt to pull over her head and toss it in the direction of their discarded clothes. His pants join the mix and without wasting another second, they're back in each other's arms –dressed only in their underclothes. His lips leave hers as they trail and leave kisses against her jaw, her cheek, her neck and basically anywhere they choose to land, "I love you." At her words, he kisses her harder, bringing her lips into his in a feral kiss that takes her breath away. Her face is flushed as she pulls back to get a breath of air, "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

"You just told me you love me."

Erin nods to confirm, "I always tell you I love you."

"And I never get tired of it," he doesn't waste any more time; he comes in and attacks her red, swollen lips. The force pushes her back, pressing her bare thighs against the white, laminate countertops. And he suddenly lifts her and sets her on top of the counter, "Fuck Jay," she quickly pushes him away, "that's fucking cold!" He moves back in, pushing open her legs to allow her to tangle them around him. His hands wrap around the back of her thighs, tugging her forward towards the edge of the countertop; his lips kiss against the corner of her mouth, "Is that better?"

"Much," she turns her face to meet his, forcing his lips to fall from the corner of her mouth. His gaze is intense, matching the look he was giving her during the fireworks, "Stop looking at me like that," she blushes; her cheeks turn to a dark shade of red.

"I can't."

Her cheeks darken when he leans in to press a kiss against the red tint lighting her flesh, "It feels like you're looking into my soul," he cups her face and cuts her off with the seal of his lips, "It feels like you're looking at every vulnerability, every worry and every fear."

"No, I'm looking at every perfection babe," he corrects, trailing his hand down to trace the scar over her abdomen. His gaze fell from her hazel eyes to her swollen lips as she grins, "That smile makes my day."

Erin closes the distance between them, cupping his face and locking her lips with his. Bringing her even further to the edge of the counter, he prods for her to wrap her legs around his waist once again, closing in the space and the distance between their bodies. She pulls away, completely out of breath the moment the kiss grew even more heated, "I could stay like this forever," he chases her mouth when she attempts to pull further away. When he couldn't reach her lips, he settled for her neck, tearing into her skin to leave his next mark. She grins, "Is this how you release your pent up jealousy and frustration?"

"…from the advice of Dr. Charles."

Her eyes flutter as the sensation grows the more he kisses her neck, "Dr. Charles told you to do this to get over your little problem?"

"Not in those words precisely," he temporarily lifts his head to meet her eyes, "He told me those emotions have to come out and I should find a better, more productive and less toxic way of doing it." Jay resumes his attack on her neck, ravishing her flesh and turning her white skin red.

"Remind me to thank him during my next session."

"Of course."

"And you know, there's no reason to ever be jealous Jay," She asserts, pulling her husband away and setting her hands against his shoulders; he doesn't look too convinced, "There's no reason to be jealous at all."

"Why would I be jealous?"

"…maybe because you have a pretty, hot wife."

Jay nods slowly, biting against his bottom lip, "A pretty, hot wife who likes men in authority, in control and especially in uniform."

"Not plural, singular," she corrects, tracing the tip of her finger against his red lips, "and not men, man; you."

Tugging hard, she pulls him closer, pressing his chest against hers. She's still clad in her panties and a bra while he remains in his boxers. Their clothes discarded somewhere in the kitchen. Closing the gap between their mouths, she initiates the kiss but he takes over control. His hands are warm as they slide up her bare thighs, squeezing against her flesh and earning a lustful moan. She whispers against his lips, "Let's take this upstairs."

"Have you forgotten?" He whispered back, continuing the kiss even as he speaks, "Baby in bed."

"Couch then?"

Jay doesn't respond. He continues the kiss as he prepares to lift his wife into his arms. Unfortunately a loud wail emits from upstairs. It stills both of their mouths. Their lips remain touching but they're not moving. She sighs, being the first to pull back only to have his face lean in, chasing after her lips, "If we're really quiet and really lucky maybe she'll fall back asleep?"

Erin shakes her head, "We're not that lucky. You have to let me up."

After a few pushes of the shoulder, a few dodges of kisses and an attempt to disentangle her legs from his limbs, she finally is able to slide herself off the countertop. She squeezes his behind before running off towards the stairs, leaving him watching her until she disappears. The baby's cries eventually stop and Jay collects their clothes before climbing the staircase; he turns the corner and walks into their bedroom, finding his wife dressed in an overnight shirt cuddled up to the side of the baby, "Her pain medication wore off," she whispered, tracing the light bruise on the side of her daughter's mouth, "I had to give her another advil mouth drop. She fell right back asleep once it kicked in."

"How's her mouth looking?"

Erin brushed her fingers over the bruised area, "It's just light bruising; it'll hurt tomorrow, but I'll probably set an alarm to wake up before her and give her more advil drops when those wear off."

"I know Natalie told us she didn't need to be taken to the doctor's but tomorrow maybe we should take her anyway," he dumps their clothes into the hamper, "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"No complaints coming from me," Erin reaches over to draw the covers back, inviting her husband to climb in; he maneuvers around the pillow and lies comfortably against the side of his daughter, "I'll text Voight to tell him we'll be a little late into work tomorrow. I'll have to call Emily too and give her a rough estimate on what time we'll be dropping her off."

Jay rolls over onto his side, drawing the covers up to his shoulder. His wife turned off her table lamp and the room became surrounded by darkness. In the far distance, they can hear fireworks still going off. It was an all-day event, a holiday to celebrate morning and night. The crowd without children, the crowd who didn't have to work tomorrow morning and the crowd who is still in school but old enough to venture out without their parents were the main attendees to events at this time of night. Erin rolled over to face the window the second she hears her husband's snores fill the room; his loud breathing starts to mix in with the sounds of laughter and fireworks heard from the streets, it's comforting. To know everyone is at peace and having a good time feels rewarding. There are no worries, there are no fears and trepidation; it's just celebration and happiness. It's joy that arises from the independence of our country. The celebration of it provided them with an escape from the real world. She wasn't hung up on work and all of the cases that still needed solving. She wasn't swamped with helping Kim plan her wedding for next summer. And she didn't worry about Tyler today and the fact that his trial is next month. She got a mental breath. And it's that escape, that emotional and mental break that provides her with the ease of falling asleep.


	8. Eight Months

Warm water and bubble bath surrounded their naked bodies as they relaxed in the bathtub. Her back leant and rested against her husband's chest as they both nurse a glass of red wine. With her hair pulled up into a pony tail, the back of her head rests in the crook of her husband's neck; she snuggles into him and the droplets of water on his chest press against her face. Erin presses a kiss to his collarbone and he squeezes his eyes shut while releasing a groan, "Babe," he whispers, struggling to get his next words out, "don't start anything we can't finish," she doesn't heed his warning and continues to kiss up his neck, "Erin," he tries again, "it's noon."

"I know what time it is," she whispers, trailing her lips along his jawline.

The wine glass is brought to his lips and with a shaky hand he swallows the remainder of its contents. And when Erin trails her lips up to his ear and takes a nip at his earlobe, he almost drops the glass. It slides between his fingers but he manages to adjust his grip around it before it fell. Erin draws back and smiles, pressing her teeth together until the dimples appeared in her cheeks. He wants to run his hands through her hair but her ponytail prevents it. Instead, he grabs her chin and tilts her head up to seal his lips against hers. The taste of wine is strong on their tongues as their interlocked lips move passionately against the other. Erin feels his hand brush loose strands –strands that didn't make it to the ponytail- behind her ear, drawing her away and smiling as he watches her drink the remainder of her red wine, "Emily will be dropping Haven off any minute now; we have to get out," and she rises from the tub, water dropping off her naked form as she steps out.

It was their day off. Emily had been a gift sent from heaven; she was great. Erin had only wished Emily had come into her life months ago. They couldn't get off of work until around midnight and because it was so late, Emily had sent them a text, offering to let Haven spend the night and assuring them she'll drop the eight month old off the next day. It was music to their ears –or eyes in this case- since they were able to go straight home and collapse in bed, not opening their eyes until around eleven in the morning. Emily was an angel. They had expected to be woken up by a phone call or a knock at the door in her haste to get rid of the eight month old, but Emily had sent them a text, promising she'll drop the baby off after she ran errands. Their morning had been a day off from work and parenting.

The empty wine glass is taken from his hand and he watches her set their glasses down on the countertop. He's too distracted staring at her, watching as she grabs herself a towel out of the bathroom closet. When the towel is wrapped around her body, he breaks out of his reverie, no longer finding himself distracted because his wife was now covered; he reaches under the water to unstop the tub. Jay stands, the water dripping down his body as he steps out, walking over to the closet to grab a towel for himself. Erin no longer in the master bathroom; she's in their bedroom throwing on clothes to get ready for their daughter's arrival.

As he runs the towel down his face, clearing his vision and drying his skin, something catches his eye. It's a small box, sitting in the trashcan on a pile of used napkins. The towel drops from his hands when the words on the side of the box catch his eye –pregnancy test it reads. He reaches into the bin and picks it up, "Erin, can you come here for a second?"

"What's up?" She reenters the bathroom dressed in a matching black bra and panties. He sees her reflection in the mirror; his eyes fall towards her stomach, it's flat and a little toned, but that doesn't mean anything. It took a few months before she started showing during her pregnancy with Haven and if she were pregnant again, it could still be early on.

Jay turns around to face her, holding up the box, "What's this?"

"Honey, you've never heard of a pregnancy test?" She smirks; the hint of a smile is clear on her face as she backs out of the bathroom. He follows her into the master bedroom and catches the pair of boxers she tosses his way.

"Of course I have, but why is it empty and in our trashcan?" Jay questions, watching her snatch the box from his hand; he climbs into his boxers as he particularly notices his wife's silence, "You think you're pregnant? Did you take it? What did it say? I thought we agreed on not having any more kids. Haven's still a baby. She's not even a year yet."

"Jay," she attempts to cut off his rambling.

"Two kids under the age of two."

She smirks, rolling her eyes as the stress lines appear on his forehead, "I was just thinking we'll give the new baby to Burgess since she wants one so bad."

"What?" It cuts off his rambling.

"I'm joking," she chuckles and tosses the box onto the dresser, "I'm not pregnant." She crosses the room and approaches him; her hands intertwining with his as she hears him sigh in relief, "My period was late and I'm normally never late but I guess it's the stress of Tyler's trial tomorrow that's been having me on edge these last few weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You knew I was concerned about Tyler's trial since the start of this month," she reminds.

Jay shakes his head before clarifying, "Not about Tyler, about thinking you were pregnant."

"Because it was no reason to mention it until I knew for sure."

His hands draw out of hers and come to rest against her cheeks, brushing his thumbs over the smooth flesh of her skin, "I wasn't with you when you found out about Haven; I deserved to be with you when you found out about this one."

"This one doesn't exist. This one is nonexistent. I'm not pregnant."

"I just didn't want you to go through that alone."

Erin steps out of his arms, "Go through a pregnancy scare alone? Jay, I was fine. I was so preoccupied with the baby we do have that I didn't get a chance to worry about it," she walks over to the dresser and opens it to toss him a shirt, "I bought a test, peed on it, was distracted by your kid and when the timer went off and I checked, it was negative."

"So you're not pregnant?"

"I'm not pregnant."

The sigh of relief released from his mouth spreads through their bedroom. The muscle tee is pulled over his head and it stretches as he slides his arms through the sleeves. Jay approaches his wife, standing beside her and grabbing a pair of sweats from out of the dresser. The silence in the room is deafening. It's so strong and intense that he needs to break it. As Jay ties the strings of his sweatpants, he turns his wife to face him and before he's able to initiate another conversation, she speaks, "There is something else we should talk about."

"I don't like the sound of that."

Erin turns back to face the mirror, sliding the hair tie off and embracing the warm feeling of her hair falling to cover her shoulders, "Since the test came back negative, I've been thinking about how to bring this up with you," she grabs her brush and slides it through her damp hair, "but since we're kind of already on the topic, now is the most perfect time than any."

"Just spit it out."

"We need to discuss further preventative measures."

His eyes furrow in confusion, "Okay…"

"Something more permanent," she attempts to clarify.

"Like what?"

"A vasectomy; I think you should get a vasectomy."

It was quiet enough to hear a pen drop. The only sounds starting to fill their room is the sound of their stomachs growling, begging to be satisfied soon. Neither paying attention to the noises nor the hunger pains. Erin purposely avoids eye contact; she's staring in the mirror, brushing her hair before bringing the strands up and securing them in a tight ponytail. She still doesn't look his way when she opens up the dresser to grab a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. And while she knew the silence wouldn't last, a part of her hoped, it would last a little longer. Jay's voice sounded so low, so fragile, "What?" She turns to meet his eyes, "You want someone to touch me," he points downwards, "down there."

She grabbed his hand as she clarifies, "I want to never have to take a pregnancy test again. I want to never get pregnant again. I don't want any more babies."

"Why can't you keep taking your birth control or go get your tubes tied?"

Erin releases his hand, rolling her eyes as she snatches the shirt from on top of the dresser, "I'm tired of carrying all the weight Jay. Between birth control, condoms and giving birth, I've done and bought everything. It's your turn!"

"Your birth control is a pill; it's painless."

"Labor isn't," she argued, yanking the shirt down to cover her torso, "I pushed your baby out of me; this is the least you can do."

"You're guilt tripping me."

"The only reason I can see for you not getting a vasectomy is if you're planning to have a baby with your next wife."

He yanks open the bottom dresser and pulls out a pair of socks, "I'll get a vasectomy and then what?" Jay looks up at her as he slams the dresser drawer shut, "You're still fertile. You'll go out there and have another kid with your next husband."

She waves his comment off with the flick of her wrist, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm more adamant about not having a second kid than you are!"

"Your next husband could change your mind. He can convince you to pop another one out."

This whole dispute was ridiculous. It was so ridiculous that she couldn't remember the number of times she had rolled her eyes. The conversation that played out in her head was less heated than this. She wasn't mad, just frustrated. He wasn't angry, just nervous. She had seen the look on his face when she first mentioned it and he was definitely freaking out on the inside. Erin adds to the countless times of rolling her eyes by doing it again with her arms crossed over her chest to add emphasis, "If I promise you that the only baby that has or will be pushed out of my vagina is the one that we already created then will you get the vasectomy?"

Silence follows for a few seconds before he regrettably nods, "Yes."

"Fine, Jay," she swallows hard, "I promise you that the only kid coming out of me is the one I already pushed out."

"What if your second husband wants a baby with you?"

She storms towards him, snatching his hand in hers to tug him over to the bed, "I have no intentions of getting a second husband," they both take a seat, "I'm kind of hung up on my first."

"You better be," he grins and she gives him a smile to match.

Her hand circles around his waist and she leans into his side, pulling him closer to rest her chin upon his shoulder, "I'll schedule the appointment for you."

"It's the least you can do."

Erin smirks –leaning forward and pressing her lips quickly against his. She draws back before he's able to escalate the kiss. Lindsay rises from her seat, grabs her pair of sweatpants and slides them onto her legs, "Do you want me to be there?"

"Not in the room," he immediately retorts, standing from the bed, "the waiting room maybe, but I don't want you in there seeing that."

"It's nothing I haven't seen before," she whispers, moving closer to his nervous figure, "and I've seen it plenty of times before." Her arms wrap around his neck and rises to the tip of her toes to pepper kisses around his mouth, purposely avoiding his lips so he could clearly respond.

"They're going to cut me."

"It's like a 30 minute procedure."

"They're still going to cut me."

Her arms fall from around his neck, "If I can be in labor for eight hours to deliver your baby then you can do this simple thing for me," she pats his cheek, "Cheer up, buttercup. And if you're a good sport, I'll buy some ice packs and nurse you back to health."

Before he could respond or attempt to debate her statement, the doorbell rings. He deems her lucky with having the perfect timing when the doorbell rings. The only person they're expecting is Emily. Leaving his wife in the room, he jogs down the stairs and towards the front door, swinging it open to be greeted by his energetic baby being held in Emily's arms. His wife's bare feet comes pitter pattering behind him, "Hey Em," she greets, taking a hold of the diaper bag and empty car seat, "you're a life saver. You don't know how much I appreciate this."

"It's no problem, really," Emily responds, passing the baby to her father's opened arms, "I've given her a bath and fed her. She should be nice and full." The baby sits in Jay's arm, gnawing upon a graham cracker. Erin sets the baby's belongings down before walking back towards Emily, "I can't thank you enough. It felt so good to just go straight home and pass out without being awakened by a screaming baby," Erin's hand runs through the few strands of dirty blonde hair on top of her daughter's head, "I love this little lady but I also love when I can sleep in."

"I told you I'm available to watch your little one whenever you need."

Erin feels compelled to hug her; she springs forward and wraps her arms around the petite woman. Emily chuckles in the hug, wrapping her own arms around Erin to squeeze her tight. She smiles as Haven watches, continually sucking on her graham cracker as she stares at Emily with a wide grin. When the hug ends, Emily leans forward and waves at Haven, "Auf Wiedersehen," and when the baby smiles, Emily draws back to look up at the baby's parents, "You're going to have a bilingual speaker on your hands."

"Thanks again Em," Erin repeats her earlier gratification; while her eyes stare at the eight month old baby starting to sprout two teeth in the upper center of her gums. She switched the graham cracker from one hand to the other. Haven brings the graham cracker back up to her mouth, using her gums to gnaw down upon the soft cracker. As she's transferred from her dad's arms and over to her mother's arms, she sucks on the remainder of the cracker, the last bite is in her mouth and her saliva crumbles it up and evaporates the rest of the small cracker.

Lindsay trails behind her husband; he's leading the way towards the living room and spreading out the baby's play mat. Erin's arms are wrapped around the baby's bottom; Haven's front pressed against her mother's chest as she holds her hands up to Erin's cheeks, "Hi my baby," she leans forward and presses a small kiss against Haven's nose, "look at your mouth," she runs her hand over the crumbs covering Haven's lips. The baby smiles when a kiss is pressed against her cheek before she's sat on her behind. Jay leans over his daughter, presses his hand against the side of her head to press a kiss against her forehead before pulling away, "I'll start breakfast."

Now that the house was completely –from top to bottom- baby proofed, they felt more comfortable allowing her to crawl around more freely. The first time parents still watch her, sometimes follow her around, out of habit, protective instinct or for pure entertainment to see what the mobile eight month old may try to get into. From floor to floor –minus the basement- and from room to room, they baby proofed the house with precision and care. Emily had even come over to walk through the house in search of anything that could possibly still pose a risk to the baby –she found nothing. Erin watched the baby roll from a seated position to a crawling position with such ease; she had definitely perfected it since the last month. Lindsay's bare feet led her into the kitchen, occasionally looking over her shoulder knowing the baby would feel compelled to follow behind. The tiled floor of the kitchen felt cold against her feet; she takes a seat at the dining room table and bends her legs to pull her feet onto the wooden chair, wrapping her arms around her legs and setting her chin upon her knees, she watches her husband whip up his signature pancakes. Jay clears his throat, "Something's been bugging me," he stirs the pancake batter, "I'm still thinking about the vasectomy."

"I thought it was already decided. You agreed."

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do?"

She lifts her head, "We can stop having sex."

"Something that's a little more realistic."

"Jay," Erin drops her legs and stands, "I read up on the operation before I even thought about bringing it to your attention. It's pretty quick and simple. It's safe too. You'll be fine. And I'm pretty sure the doctor wouldn't mind if I were in the room with you."

"You're not going to be in the room with me," he asserts, pouring the batter into the pan.

Erin rolls her eyes and turns to eye her quiet daughter; she's sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, "Why don't you want me in the room?" She sees Haven using her pointer finger and thumb to finger pinch a dime from the ground and slowly bring it to her mouth. With Erin springing into action, she slides towards the eight month old and is forced to pry open the infant's mouth, "I'm slightly offended you don't want me in the room," she scoops two of her fingers into the baby's mouth and pulls out the dime, "Who the fuck keeps dropping coins?" She sets it onto the table and wipes her wet hand onto her sweatpants as Haven continues crawling, aiming and heading for her colorful musical keyboard.

Haven approaches it and takes a seat, leaning over and banging her fingers against the plastic keys. Her tiny hands bang and bang creating a tune unfamiliar to their ears. It's music from the keyboard that plays loudly but is overpowered and drowned out by the sound of her excited hands crashing down upon them. Her giggles mixed in, filling the room with the sound of absolute joy and innocence. Jay reduces the heat on the stove as the pancakes slowly cook; he occasionally looks over his shoulder to see his wife watching him, her fingers toying with the dime on the table as she waits for him to answer her earlier question. He sighs, walking over to the fridge and pulling the bacon out of it; he sighs and his cheeks turn an embarrassing shade of red, "You don't need to see your jewels being cut."

"You mean your jewels," she corrects.

"What's mine is yours."

And she busts out laughing at that. Clenching her stomach and tossing her head back in a full blown-out chuckle. It alerts the baby. Forgetting about her toy keyboard, she crawls towards her mother, taking a seat near her feet. Lindsay glances down at her and waves, "Hi my baby," it's such a casual and innocent greeting that has become Erin's normal way of initiating conversation with the baby.

Jay pulls a pan out and sets it onto the stove. After turning the top burner on, he begins laying strips of bacon onto the pan, "What if it hurts? I'm sensitive down there."

"It's not going to hurt; they'll give you an anesthetic and you'll be numb."

He lays the last strip of bacon down, "What if I lose my spark?"

"Your spark?"

"Yeah," he nods, walking over to wash his hands, "you know? My spark, my sex drive."

"If there's one thing I know about my husband, it's that you'll never lose your sex drive."

He sends a wink in her direction as he dries his hands on his pants leg. Jay walks around the table and leans in to smooch a kiss against his wife's cheek before dropping to his knees, "Havieeeee," Jay exclaims, resting on his hands and knees as the baby starts crawling away; he follows behind, keeping up with her active form. Erin watches her two favorite people and her heart warms at the melody of her daughter's giggles. It amazes her how just last month the baby struggled to crawl down the hallway and now she was crawling all over the house. Halstead remains on the baby's heel, she isn't moving as fast, but he keeps his pace slow so she can stay in the lead as he pretends to chase her.

The squeals, laughter and babbles of the eight month old is full of delight. Her short little legs and her small palms move against the tiled floor as she crawls as fast as her little body allowed. Erin's forced to break away when she hears her phone ringing upstairs; it hurts to pull away but she knows this is becoming a regular thing, Jay getting on the floor with the baby and following her around so she knows this isn't the last she'll see of it. Lindsay removes the baby proofing gate from blocking the bottom of the stairs in her quest to climb them in order to get to her phone in time. Jay's always amused when Haven completely gives up in the middle of him crawling after her. She always suddenly stops and rolls over onto her back, giving her dad the opportunity to crawl and hover above her smiling face. He grins, "I caught you little monster," he attacks her face –her chubby cheeks, her pink lips, and every inch of her adorable face with kisses. She laughs harder, hands flying to the air as her dad's lips planted with her forehead, her cheeks, her own lips and even her eye. Anywhere they could land, they landed.

Haven's hands had grabbed her dad's face, laughing as he continues to plant kisses all over her face. And with each peck, she turns a darker shade of red from smiling and laughing so hard. His smile matches hers and the mood is filled with so much love and happiness that when Erin returns from upstairs with a small frown on her face, he senses it. It stands out. She tries to fake it. She tries to plaster a grin onto her face, but it's next to impossible. Haven continues to giggle, completely oblivious to the mood change and she only stops giggling when the kisses end; her dad looks over his shoulder, watching as his wife leans against the wall and slowly slides down it. Jay lays one last kiss against the baby's nose before turning and crawling over to his wife, "What's wrong? Who was that on the phone?"

Erin wipes beneath her eyes with the back of her thumbs, "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine; it was just the DA for Tyler's case."

"What did he say?"

"In a couple of hours, they're going to be transporting Tyler from the correctional facility to the holding cell at the courthouse in preparation for tomorrow."

"And what's wrong with that?"

Her eyes glaze over as she stares off into the distance, "It's all becoming so real." Erin blinks out of her reverie when she hears Haven banging two of her toys together. It's loud and distracting, but the baby loves it. Haven had crawled over towards the toys while she distractedly thought about Tyler being taken from one facility to another for the start of his trial tomorrow. The banging increases. And she says nothing. Jay is forced to leave her side and stand up to check on the food; he flipped the pancakes and he turned the bacon. She clears her throat and leans further back against the wall, "My outfit is already picked out for tomorrow. I'm going to be called up to testified either tomorrow or the next day…and the more I think about it, the more I freak out."

"You'll do fine," he asserts, scooping the pancakes out of the pan and onto plates.

"I'm still worried. Dr. Charles promised to attend just in case I needed him."

He lays the spatula down and turns to face her, "Do you think you're up for testifying?"

"I hope so; his trial is going to be more than one day and I have no idea when I'm testifying, but they want me at the courthouse regardless. I'm just so nervous. I'm trembling on the inside."

Lindsay stretches out her legs and closes her eyes before pressing her hands over her face. Halstead can see her hands shaking as they lay over her mouth and nose. She's trying to keep still. She's struggling and Jay sees through it all. He walks over to her and stoops low, "What are you nervous about?"

Her hands drop to press against the floor, "What if something goes wrong? What if there's a slip up? What if I get tongue-tied and the defense attorney twists my words around? We can't afford for him to be released Jay."

"He's not going to be released."

She notices the sound of banging has stopped and her very active and energetic daughter was now crawling over, "I'm hearing what you're saying and I agree with you, but that doesn't make my nerves go away. I'm going to hyperventilate in that courtroom."

"You've testified on cases before."

"As an expert witness, as a cop, never as a victim," she reminds, pressing a forced smile onto her face when her daughter crawls towards the center of her opened legs, "What if choke up there?"

"You're not going to choke," he assures.

"What if it renders me speechless?"

Jay reaches for her hand, "For as long as I've known you, nothing has rendered you speechless babe."

Erin wants to chuckle; she wants to smile because she found what he said to be funny…and a bit true. However, she's unable to do either. All she can do is squeeze his hand, tug it towards her and hold it tight, "I feel like I'm going to be sick."

"We're all going to be there Erin. The team, we're all going to be with you."

"I know," she nods, feeling Haven use her shoulder to stand on her little feet, "which is why I'm not currently puking at the moment; it's the only thing keeping my nerves under control."

Jay leans forward, resting his hand gently over his wife's ear as he leans in to press a lingering kiss against her forehead. He sits his lips against her head for seconds, sighing and inhaling in her scent before pulling away. She misses the contact and normally she would reach out and pull him back towards her, but she is unable to move. She has to sit still. Haven can't walk or stand up by herself, but she's able to use furniture or people to hold her balance. If Erin moves, Haven would surely tumble. It wouldn't hurt or cause any type of discomfort, but Erin would prefer for her daughter not to fall regardless. So she chooses to lose physical contact with her husband to keep her daughter upright, bouncing on her unstable, chubby legs as both her hands hold on tightly to her mother's shoulder.

The baby bounces and bounces, using her leg muscle and strengthening her legs for when she's ready to walk months down the line. She stays put for her daughter's benefit. She remains seated until breakfast finishes and Jay makes their plates, carrying them over to the table and setting them in their designated, unassigned seats. He pulls out her chair and offers it to her, but the look on her face has him sighing, "You're afraid of nothing babe. Tyler's locked away."

"I know that." She looks over and meets the baby's eyes; the big, wide hazel eyes shining pure innocence and obliviousness because she has no idea what's going on, "I'm just scared about what could happen if there's a mistake in evidence."

"We've been over the evidence; there's no mistake."

"I'm going to see him again after months."

Jay approaches his wife, "You handled yourself then, you'll handle yourself again." He extends his hand but she doesn't grab it. She simply stares into her daughter's eyes, smiling until she received an equally bigger smile back from the eight month old. That smile, that adorable, loving, open-mouthed grin settles Erin's nerves, "You're right," she finally sets her hand in her husband's opened palm, "I'm freaking out for nothing. Everything will go according to plan."

Lindsay's free hand goes to carefully remove the baby from her shoulder, being mindful to set her down so she doesn't fall. The infant is back on her hands and knees, crawling forward in search of a toy. Once one is found and she's occupied, Jay doesn't waste any time pulling his wife to her feet, "Come eat," he leans forward to lightly press his lips against the corner of her mouth, dragging his lips slowly against the other corner of hers before leaving a final peck.

"This looks yummy," she whispers, rubbing her hands together as she approaches the table, "this looks really good Jay," the fork and knife are in her hands, cutting into her pancakes the second she sits down, "Just wait until the little one starts eating table food, you'll have to cook all the time and I have no complaints about it."

"Are you feeling better?"

"I am," she answers once the mouth-watery bite of her pancake is in her mouth.

"Good," Jay grins, giving her a wink, "now we can talk about the more pressing issue; what if during the procedure they cut something that's not supposed to be cut?"

Erin laughs loudly, mouth full of food, "Babe, you're going to be fine. Trust me."

"I do trust you, but you're not the one doing the procedure."

"How about you google information on how it's done, the risks and the side effects?"

"I don't know," he shrugs, "What if it freaks me out even more?"

"I don't have all the answers. I can't ease your worries like the internet can."

Erin doesn't waste a second; she pushes her unfinished plate towards Jay and hops to her feet to run upstairs and grab her laptop. The baby gate left unopened as she climbs the stairs, alerting Haven to her mother's disappearance. Her toy forgotten as she crawls towards the staircase and her little butt wiggles with each movement towards the bottom stair. Jay notices, dropping his utensils on his plate to hop to his feet, "Erin you forgot to close the baby gate," her little hand touches the bottom stair and before she can push herself up, she's lifted from the ground, "Got you!" He leans her back and smears kisses against her cheek. Jay uses his foot to pull her bouncer from against the wall before positioning her inside of it; she's distracted once again, sitting inside the compartment and using her little legs to bounce up and down while playing with the different toys connected to it. She only looks away when her mother returns, balancing a laptop in one arm as she closes the gate with the other, "She tried to come up the stairs?" and when he nods, Erin continues, "I swear she's constantly on the move," she sets the laptop down in front of him, "Wait until she starts walking; I hear it's going to get worse."

The laptop is opened up in front of him; his plate off to the side, waiting to be finished as she takes a comfortable seat on his lap. With her rested in his lap, he scoots in closer to the table and reaches his arms around her to type his search into the search engine. Lindsay watches as he types it, only finding herself stiffening in his hold when he presses enter. Her breathing is hitched, hoping that he doesn't find anything to further his concerns or raise anymore worries. Erin slides her plate closer and resumes eating, reading along the informative website, "Look at that; it doesn't cost much with our insurance," she points to the screen with her free hand, the opposite hand holds a strip of bacon, "and it's both safe and effective."

"It's _nearly_ 100% effective, that's not effective."

"Nearly is close enough," she responds, biting on her strip of bacon, "every product you purchase will never be 100% effective. Companies aren't bold enough to make that statement."

He turns his head to look straight at her, "…maybe it's not that bad."

"And if you look at that," she forks another bite of pancake into her mouth as she points at the screen, "the benefits, sex without the worries of pregnancy and it will not affect your jewels working," she chuckles, using the term he deemed them, "oh and look at this right here, reasons to consider getting a vasectomy, we meet at least two, our family is complete and no more children are wanted and you want to spare me the surgery and the expense of tubal sterilization, which costs so much more."

He nods, considering her words before his eyes fall to the next heading, "Reasons not to get a vasectomy," he reads aloud and smirks when he hears her gulp, "we meet one; it may not be a good fit if I'm being pressured by a partner, friend or family member."

"That's just one and we technically meet," she silently counts and points to each one, "four of the reasons why you should."

"And look at the risks," he points out, nodding his head towards the list, "there's bruising, pain or discomfort and maybe even hematomas."

"All of that will clear up; it's not permanent. And it's only a risk, it's not guaranteed."

"… but they have other birth control options," he mentions, scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Immediately Erin stands up from his lap, snatching her empty plate up with her, "…no, all of those options are for me. That's all female birth control options. It's your turn to pick up some of the slack! Besides surgery, none of my options are permanent –forever lasting. You can either do the vasectomy or buy condoms and wear them," when he opens his mouth to protest, she raises her hand to interrupt, "and I know you hate wearing condoms but those are your two options; the third option would be abstinence and I know for a fact that's not an option for you."

"I'll get the damn vasectomy."

She takes her plate over to the sink, "Are you sure? I don't want to force you," she smirks over her shoulder, using his earlier words against him.

"I'll get the damn vasectomy," he repeats, pulling his plate over to continue eating.

Erin approaches, leaning against the table and running her hand through his hair, "I'll nurse you back to health afterwards," she leans forward, ghosting her lips over his, "it'll be at least three months before we're able to go without the condom but I promise it'll be all worth it." He closes the space. His hand comes to rest against her cheek as he leans further into the kiss, moving his lips slowly against hers. When the aroma of his food settles in, he pulls away; she chases his lips because the craving for more is too strong; it's nowhere near enough, however, when he dodges her attempt at another kiss to consume another bite of food, she allows it and draws back with a chuckle, "Now that it's all settled, can you stop bringing up the procedure at least until I make the appointment? Can we agree on that?"

"Agreed," he nods, taking the last bite of his food.

Erin lifts his empty plate up to bring it over to the sink, joining hers inside the water as she scrubs the syrup off the dish. Her hands enter the lukewarm water as she takes the sponge to scrub against the plate. She hears her husband get up and venture over towards their daughter, removing her occupied body from the bouncer. The words –or the noises that attempt to resemble words like dada and mama- are cooed; you have to listen carefully for it and neither term is gender specific. She doesn't know who is mama and who dada is. Regardless, Erin's heart warms anytime she hears a variation of the terms sounded; it's somewhat clear, but if you pay attention and listen carefully, you can kind of hear the terms cooed out of her mouth. It replays in Erin's head –the terms, the sound of her daughter's voice and laugh. It's been replaying in her head since a week ago when they first heard the words. All the baby has to learn now is that she's mama and Jay is dada. Lindsay is distracted; the baby no longer in Jay's arms as she crawls around the floor in search of another toy, but finds herself crawling towards the cabinet, wanting and trying desperately to open the lower cabinet doors but the baby proofing lock prevents it. She gives up after a few tries and goes to crawl into the living room, in search of something she can actually play with without any struggle. She flops down onto her bottom and drags the nearest toy onto her lap, banging and pressing against buttons to hear the sounds of different animals, "ba," she coos, banging her hands against the different buttons, "ma, ba."

"Haven," Jay calls and smiles when the little girl looks up at the sound of her name; she knows it now, she's unable to say it, but she's aware that it's her name. When her dad has no response, she turns back to the toy, continually banging her hand against the cow button.

Knowing she's distracted, he backs out of the living room, turning back into the kitchen to see his wife drying the last dish. She's humming to herself, setting the plate in the overhead cabinet. His hands cup his elbows as he walks into the kitchen, "Babe," he sees her jump, feet almost leaving the ground as she clenches around the countertop, "Sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"Just make sure you make noise next time when you're approaching me."

Jay nods and continues to approach, "Haven looked up at me again when I called her name."

"I swear I just want to press the pause button," she sighs, drying her hands on the dish towel, "I think I'm going to seriously start crying when she starts walking."

"And talking…"

"She's already talking," Erin reminded.

"Mama and dada, but she doesn't even understand who mama and dada is," Jay chuckles, leading his wife into the living room, "I'm not even sure she's saying mama and dada."

Haven has ditched her toy and she's currently standing, not by herself but with the help of the coffee table. She's on wobbly legs, clenching onto the edge of the table as it holds her up completely. She uses it to cruise around the furniture, holding on for dear life because she knows that the second she lets go, she's falling. She's not ready to walk yet. She won't be for a couple more months, but it didn't stop her from strengthening her leg muscles in preparation for the inevitable day that she takes her first step. Her eyes spot the coasters –the ones her parents had received for their anniversary- and she reaches for them with one hand while the other continues to hold the edge of the table. Haven knocks one to the ground in her effort to grab the rest and the second she does, her mother comes taking them from her hands; she puts them back and Haven watches her, preparing herself to grab them again but Jay picks her up and sits her on her play mat before she gets the opportunity, "This thing was more useful when she couldn't crawl around."

Erin takes a seat behind the baby, "Wait until she starts walking."

The eight month old sits up, holding her feet and leaning forward; her mouth is wide open as she laughs at the goofy expression on her father's face. He's cracking an assortment of facial expressions in an effort to get her to laugh, but when her eyes glance around him in search of her mother, she frowns at her disappearance, "Havie, where's mommy?" Erin whispers from behind the baby, "Where's mama?" The baby glances around, "Can you find mama?"

And when Haven rolls over onto her hands and knees, smiling at Erin, Jay applauds. Lindsay covers her face with the palms of her hands, "Where did mommy go?" Jay asks, watching Haven pout, her bottom lip trembling as the question is repeated, "Erin, drop your hands for a second," he worriedly orders and when his wife does as requested, the pout disappears from the baby's face. A grin takes its place until Erin covers her face once more, "Where's mommy? Find mommy." Haven simply crawls closer towards her, reaching out her arms to grab onto her mother's shoulder to stand; she bounces excitedly.

"I feel like she's going to be walking soon," Erin whines, dropping her hands from her face, "The pediatrician said some babies walk as early as nine months. Jay, that's weeks away," she takes a hold of her daughter's hands and lead her towards the front of her. All of Haven's weight held up by her mother as her unsteady legs shake and bounce with each movement.

With each bounce and shake, Erin grins wider to match her daughter's smile. Haven's two top teeth are starting to emerge and in a few weeks they'll be joining her two grown-in bottom teeth. She continues to bounce with her small hands now wrapped around her mother's fingers, Erin giggles as she takes in the sight of her energized daughter, "Who is that Havie? Who is that?" Lindsay asks, nodding her head towards her approaching husband; he crawls over and takes a seat beside his wife, "Hi ladybug," he waves as the little one continues to bounce; her eyes focused on him hard as they sparkle beneath the living room light.

"Is that daddy? Are you looking at daddy?" Erin coos, moving her hands around the baby's torso; the rate of Haven's bounces increase and she starts to giggle the faster she goes. Her energy is through the roof and when she suddenly lets go of her mother's fingers, she falls onto her behind. And the first-time parents expected a cry, they expected she was going to be whining in need of comfort, but it never came, instead she rolled onto her hands and knees and crawled away from her parents. Erin sits there, legs spread wide and her arms stretched out and open, "Come back," she calls out as Haven crawls away, her butt waggling as she disappears from the living room, occasionally looking over her shoulder to see if she's being followed.

Jay gets into the crawling position, hands flat in front of him and his legs bent. He peers over his shoulder at his wife and grins, "Mrs. Halstead, what's your orders?"

"I need you to get the package," she continues the joke, "target is female, weighing 17 pounds, wearing a sleeveless floral romper, no shoes, last seen crawling away from her mother."

Without another word he crawls away, leaving his wife to lie back and listen in on the squeals and pitches of laughter coming from the kitchen. She knows how it ended. It always ends the same; the baby is on her back, Jay's face is hovering over hers as he presses kisses all along her cheeks, her ears, her lips, her forehead and every spot in between. The squealing continues as it grows closer, "We're entering the living room. I'm only telling you so you won't get scared."

She laughs, "Thank you! My blood pressure appreciates that."

While resting on her back, she sees in her peripheral the baby crawling past her. She's always on the move –so active and alert. It amazes them how much she has grown. How far along she has come since the day in the delivery room when Erin thought her worse fear was coming alive? She had given birth and her baby didn't come out crying; her baby wasn't even breathing but now she's healthy, energetic and always on the move. She went from being a one month old who only ate, slept, pooped and cried to an eight month old who does all of that and so much more. And it hasn't even been a year yet; it's amazing how much growth a baby has before their first year. Lindsay rolls over from her back to rest upon her stomach, legs up in the air and chin resting in the palm of her hand. Jay crawls up to his wife, taking a seat beside her lying body as their daughter crawls up to the end table beside the couch, "She is really active," Jay sighs, "I mean…she's not tired yet. I crawled behind her all over the house."

"When Hank watched her the other day, he said that she kept him up until midnight wanting to play," Erin chuckles, "she had so much energy. I warned him before we dropped her off to not let her take more than two naps because she won't go to sleep at a reasonable hour."

Haven's grip on the end table tightens as she bounces up and down. Her eyes scan the contents on the table when she sees two empty wine glasses. It's from two nights ago when Hank offered to watch the baby while Jay and Erin had some alone time; they had left their sparkling wine glasses on the table, currently drawing in the excited attention of the eight month old. She reaches for it, "Hey Miss. Haven," Erin calls out as Jay pulls her into his lap. Sitting on his knees, the baby's bottom rests on his bent legs. She tilts her head up and with her hand she gestures towards her mouth, "Hungry?" Jay leans down to press his lips against the top of her head, "I'll get her a bottle."

Now that she's eight months old, she had started to indicate her wants with gestures. She'll either lay her hand over what she wants or points at it. As Jay sets the baby off his lap and onto the mat, Erin crawls over to her, meeting her eyes, while Halstead disappears into the kitchen. She leans forward and presses her lips against the baby, "Mommy loves your kisses," Erin pecks the baby's lips, "you give the best kisses." Lindsay draws away and sits up; her eyes fall towards a framed photo sitting on the end table. She reaches out and pulls the frame towards her; the active baby crawls onto her mother's lap and attempts to take the picture from her. It's a photo of Erin and Jay at Thanksgiving last year; she was eight months pregnant, almost a whole week before she gave birth. With her daughter's hand gripping the corner of the frame, Erin's fingers brush over her pregnant belly photographed in the picture as her eyes drift over to meet her daughter's orbs, "Can you believe you were in there at one point?" She brushes her free hand over her daughter's soft, dirty, blonde hair, "You were so tiny."

"And you were beautiful," Jay returns, shaking the bottle in his hand.

Erin chuckles, "Yeah, I was beautiful and huge."

"I just loved watching your stomach grow."

"You loved seeing me get fat?"

He extends the bottle to Haven, holding it until both of her little hands wrap around it, "You were simply making room for that perfect baby of ours." Halstead takes a seat beside his wife, watching as their daughter leaned into her mother's chest, drinking the formula from her bottle.

"Perfect, huh?" Erin peers down, "You know," she looks back up and over to her husband, "I didn't realize how much progress I've made until you said that word, until you called her that word. _Perfect_ ," she emphasizes the word as it comes from her lips, "She's perfect."

"Babe, I didn't mean to-"

"No," she cuts him off, "it's the day before his trial. It's going to be mentioned tomorrow. And that word doesn't sound so evil to me anymore."

Lindsay's arms circle around her daughter; Haven leaning back, her head in between her mother's breasts as she drinks from her bottle. The framed photo now in Jay's hand as he stares at their smiling faces; the look on their faces so genuine and happy and they had absolutely no idea what the next week would bring. They had no idea their daughter would come a month early, Erin would have to fight for her life, and a man they trusted would be locked away for the murder of several people. Erin's thumb brushes over her daughter's chubby thigh, tracing the creases in her legs, "What time is it?

Jay reads the clock on the wall, "It's almost three."

"Are you serious?" She looks up to meet his gaze, "It feels like the day just started."

"We woke up at eleven and soaked in the tub around noon."

"We did," She whispered, taking the empty bottle from her daughter's hands, "Wow, time has a way of flying. What are we doing later for food?"

"We have time to discuss, but we can cook or order in? I'm not up for sitting in at a restaurant."

Haven squirms out of her mother's arms and positions herself back on her hands and knees. She eyes the stuffed donkey across the room and crawls to retrieve it. The stuffed animal is much more worn and used; it's been dragged, gnawed on and torn a few times, but Haven still loved it. With the baby in their line of vision, Jay takes a seat beside his wife, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his embrace, "Have you looked outside? It's beautiful today."

"It's supposed to rain later."

"Doesn't mean we can't enjoy the weather right now," he jumps to his feet, leaving his wife's side as he disappears out of the living room. Her donkey forgotten as she watches her dad walk away, she rolls back into a crawling position and goes after him, squealing and babbling in her quest to catch up. She's quietly dragging her knees and moving her hands against the floor as her eyes squint when the bright sunlight beams through the opened front door.

It's inviting. The breeze outside is warm and welcoming. Haven crawls past her dad's legs and before she's able to crawl outside, she's off the floor, leaving the independence of moving at her own pace and by her own freewill to be held and cradled in her dad's arms, "Back you go."

"Should we hang outside for a little bit?" Erin approaches him from behind; she wraps her arms around his waist and rises to the tip of her toes in order to peck the baby's nose as the infant lays her head upon Jay's shoulder, "You were right. It is a beautiful day."

Lindsay leaves his side, unraveling her arms from around his waist as she walks outside barefoot. The grass cushions her feet the second she steps off the concrete sidewalk. And over her shoulder she sees Jay and Haven join her. Both bare feet, they walk alongside her to take a seat on the fresh, cut lawn. Haven is just too active and energetic for her own good. The second Jay had taken a seat on the grass she squirmed her way out of his arms to get onto the lawn, crawling her way over to the colorful flowers surrounding the large, oak tree. Her hands grab at the bright petals, clenching them and tearing them from the ground, "Hey! No, no," Erin scolds, running over, "let mama see," she holds out her palm, "pass it to mama."

"Mama," she softly coos, dropping the torn flowers into Erin's hand.

It wasn't her first time hearing the word mama cooed from Haven's mouth but it gets to her every time; it absolutely warms her heart. She'll never get tired of hearing it or any other variation of the term such as mom or mommy. Lindsay stoops down and lifts her up, "Thank you my baby, you're so kind," she presses a kiss against Haven's obvious dimple while carrying her back over to her husband. He's now lying on his back, his fingers intertwined over his stomach as he soaks up the warm sunlight and the gentle breeze. More clouds appeared by the second, in preparation for the impending rain but other than that, it was another beautiful day in Chicago.

Erin retakes her seat beside Jay; leaving him unbothered as she sits cross-legged with the baby to her side. The ripped flower resting in her hand as Erin reaches into her hair to pull out a hairpin, "My flower princess," she uses the clip to attach the bright flower to her daughter's head; her blonde strands and the purple flower sparkling beneath the sunlight, "now aren't you just the cutest princess there ever was. Jay," she eagerly taps her husband's side, "look at my baby."

He sits up, "Such a pretty girl."

Haven grins, reaching her hand up to touch the newly added accessory. Lindsay pulls out her cell phone and reaches out to stop Haven's hand from picking at the flower, at least long enough to take a picture. When the phone is held up and angled, positioning it perfectly under the sun, she takes several photos before sending the best one to Burgess and Annie. It's surprisingly left on her head longer than expected; she only rips it off when she gets back into a crawling position and feels the hairclip shift at her sudden movement. Haven feels forced to rip it from her head and hold it out to Erin, "Is this for me?" Lindsay opens her palm and smiles when the baby lets the flower go, "Thank you my baby," she coos.

The eight month old doesn't sit still for long. If Erin didn't lose her gained baby weight from the job then she would have lost it following Haven around. The little girl was quick, energetic and hyper. She was like a big ball of excitement. Pure innocence always shined in her hazel eyes but the second she was independently crawling around, the innocence disappeared and was replaced with mischievousness; her quest to explore the world always appeared to look as if she was up to no good. There's something about seeing the world through your child's eyes; it's like seeing it all over again for the first time. When she looks at colors, television shows and movies, when she watches the wind blow through the leaves and the different type of cars drive by, it all seems so small and unimportant to them until they notice the wide-eyed look she'll get as she stares at it.

It's always interesting to discover the world again as an adult. To realize things you've overlooked mean so much to someone who hasn't even been here a whole year yet is absolutely astonishing. Haven heard a dog bark for the first time last week and she jumped and looked around in search of where the foreign noise had come from. And when she saw the dog –a cocker spaniel- she started bouncing, kicking her legs and clapping her hands while sitting on her mother's lap. When she saw a plane fly by in the sky, it was like the world around her had paused. She watched it until it was too far away for her to continue staring. It's the little things, like when she first discovered her feet months ago, when she realized hearing a loud knock at the door meant someone was at her house or when she sat outside with her mom a few weeks ago to watch as her dad mowed the lawn. It was all new experiences for the baby and she loved each one. She was always set out to explore, testing the limits she could travel and the boundaries of her parent's worries and concerns.

Jay and Erin normally sit back and watch her explore; they normally keep their distance, but remain close enough to run in and stop her from crawling in the wrong direction or eating something off the ground. They didn't want to hover –it was hard, achingly hard, but it was good for her, it was good for them. As first time parents, hovering became innate. It felt inherent and like second nature. Erin feels the arm of her husband she didn't even realize was around her drop as he jumps to his feel, "No, no, Haven, get back here," he jogs over as the baby attempts to crawl towards the bottom of the driveway. He scoops her into the air and raises her above his head before bringing her in close to press a kiss against her nose, "And where do you think you were going little one?" Her hand lays against the side of his face as he carries her back over to her mother, "Here's your kid," he extends her.

"Come here my baby," she extends her arms and Haven spreads her own, wanting to be transferred into the arms of her other parent. She's pulled into Erin's lap and endless kisses reach her face, "Look at that," with her arms around the baby, she brings her hands around the bright firefly before circling them shut, "look at what mommy caught."

Just like all of the other times, all of the times Haven sees something for the first time, she watches. She stares at her mother's opened hands. She rests her chin against the shoulder of her daughter as she brings it in closer, "Do you like the pretty firefly? Mama used to catch them all the time when I was just a little girl."

"Dada," Haven points at the bug crawling along her mother's finger. She's unable to identify the difference between mama and dada but her pediatrician says that she should be able to distinguish between the two by next month. She reaches her hand out roughly for the firefly but it flies away, "Uh oh, look at the firefly go baby." And Haven smiles as she watches it light up. It sparkles in the dimming light, the sun slowly disappearing behind the clouds as they sky starts to turn gray. Erin wants to take her daughter to catch another one, but she feels a raindrop hit her shoulder, "Babe," she looks over to Jay, "it's about to rain soon. I felt a raindrop," another drop falls onto Haven's shoulder, "and there's another one; we should be going back inside." She wipes the drop of rain off the baby's shoulder.

"Shouldn't we give her the joy and the pleasure of playing in the rain and mud?"

Erin quirks a brow, "…not unless you're willing to bathe her," she remarks.

It took a minute for him to decide; he weighed his options, he considered the pros and the cons and Erin was about to start rushing him when another drop of rain hits her. He's quick to decide, knowing they won't have long until the sky opens up and releases a downpour. By the time the next drop of rain hits, Jay has decided, "It's worth it," he rubs his hands together before reaching out for the kid, only to have Erin quickly turn away.

"Don't be out here too long; it's warm, but it's not that warm."

He nods to agree.

"And I really love this outfit," she unzips the back of the baby's floral romper, "I'm taking it off. She can play around the mud in her diaper."

He nods once again.

"Also, if-"

"Can I just have my daughter please?"

After the romper is taken off of her completely, she hands the baby over. Draping the romper over her arm, she walks up the porch stairs and leans against the opened front door to watch her husband and baby. She's watches from inside the house, worriedly looking around as the rain starts to fall; the baby sits on the ground and she's absolutely happy, her hands splashing against the puddles of water and mud. Her diaper soaked by rain. Her bare chest is covered in mud. Jay's feet soak into the grass as he laughs at his daughter's excitement. She's squealing and her hands fly in all sorts of directions. She's being recorded by Erin, and in the video, you could hear Lindsay's laughter fill the background of the video.

The rain starts to pick up and just as Erin is about to holler for Jay to bring the baby into the house, her cell starts to ring, ending her recorded video. She ignores the call because she doesn't want this moment to end –it can wait. Erin sent the video straight to Burgess and Annie, adding a caption to add effect. And when she's about to pocket her cell phone, it starts to ring again and the second she's about to answer, a loud crack of thunder rips through the sky. It shakes her ear drums. It startles the baby. Haven is no longer interested in splashing around the mud; now her arms are extended as she whines and waits to be picked up. Erin walks to meet them at the door, laughing as Haven's wide eyes meet hers, "I see you had a good time," Lindsay reaches out to wipe mud off her bottom lip, "You are absolutely filthy."

"It was worth it," Jay argues, pressing his lips against one of the only clean spots on Haven's face, "Now let's get you upstairs and in the tub."

As Erin prepares to follow, guiding her husband and informing him of the best water temperature and where her favorite bath toys are –even though he knows- she stops suddenly the second her phone rings again. She was pretty popular tonight. She looks down at the touchscreen and swipes to answer, "Hello."

"Detective, I've been calling you."

"I'm sorry; is everything-"

"Tyler escaped." He immediately got straight to the point. He wasted no time and said it all in one breath. She could hear him still talking but she wasn't registering anything he said. She felt physically sick. She clenched her stomach just as the phone slipped from her hands. Her eyes fall to the device, it's still connected to the district attorney, but the fear in her stomach prevents her from hearing the rest of what he's saying. She drops down beside the device, her shaky hands reaching out towards it, "Jay," she cries out; her nerves and her worries are in overdrive. She feels like she's going to be sick. Lindsay leaves her phone on the ground and runs over towards the trashcan, hanging her head over it as if she's going to throw up, "JAY! Please!" She begs for her husband to come downstairs, "Get down here! Jay!"

The sound of her voice is rushed; it's full of fear and it breaks when she says almost every syllable. She wants to call his name again; her worries starting to increase when he doesn't respond. Is Tyler here? Is he upstairs? Has he already gotten to her family? Erin races towards the stairs, uncaring about leaving her cell phone downstairs on the floor as she climbs the steps two at a time. She races to the bathroom and enters in seconds, noticing her husband rinsing the conditioner out of the baby's hair, "Why didn't you answer when I called you?!"

Jay looks up, startled and confused, "I didn't hear you." Her heart feels as if it's going to pound out of her chest as she rushes up to the side of the tub, taking a seat against the edge; he sees the look on her face, the absolute terror in her eyes and the tremble to her lips, "What's wrong?"

"Tyler escaped."

He doesn't think he heard her right, "Come again."

"I said Tyler escaped; he's free. The DA called."

Almost immediately Jay lifts the naked baby from the tub, water from her body dripping into the filthy bath water as Erin grabs the closest towel; she didn't have time to search for the baby's towel. She grabbed the first one she could find to wrap around the shivering infant. Jay pulls the baby into his chest, "What happened?"

"I don't know." Erin answered, rushing out of the bathroom; she notices his once mud covered feet were now clean and covered with socks, "but we should probably get out of here."

"We need to know what's going on," Jay says in a rush; he's close behind her as she goes downstairs. Erin's scanning the floor, spotting her cell phone and running over to pick it up.

"I'm back," she sets the device on speaker; "I'm with Jay. Tell us what happened."

"In route to the facility, Tyler escaped an hour ago; he killed the two prison guards transferring him to the courthouse. He left them on the side of the road; your team knows."

"I didn't know." Erin whispers to herself; no one hears until she repeats it, much louder than the last, "I didn't fucking know! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Jay steps closer to her phone, "We were off work today."

"Your team didn't want you two to panic."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Erin," Jay scolds, eyeing the baby in his arms.

"If they didn't want us to panic, why are you telling us this now?"

The DA sighs, "…because I believe you should be on guard. It's been all over the news."

"My team should have still told me," she says through gritted teeth.

Jay adjusts the baby in his arms, "What's being done about this now? How close is the team in finding him? What leads do we have?" He notices his worried wife; her arms wrapped around her waist as she bites hard into her bottom lip. Halstead moves closer, pressing his nose against her temple while he kisses her cheek reassuringly.

"I need to call the district to get an update, I'll see how far the investigation has come, but we don't think he'll come to your place," the DA tries to lend some sort of comfort, "We don't think he's stupid enough to show his face at your house."

"I know Tyler, trust me, he's stupid enough."

"I'll call your sergeant," the DA informs, "I'll let him know that I told you both. You might want to take your service weapons out the safe, just in case you're going to need them. I'll see if I can get officers to swing by your house. It might be best if you both leave. Just whatever you do, make sure you check in on the hour, every hour."

"Thank you," Jay mutters before ending the call; he's bouncing the eight month old in his arms. She's ready for play. She's wide awake from her bath and she'll be ready for dinner soon. Now was not the time for Tyler to break out and show his face; they were so close to his trial, it was less than 24 hours away. They were one step closer to him being locked away…for good and now he's out. He could be anywhere. He could be doing anything.

Lindsay is tapping her foot, drawing herself out of her husband's arm when she notices the front door. It's unlocked. She doesn't know how long it has been unlocked, but it's unlocked. Erin rushes over to it and locks it before banging her fist hard against the doorway, "There are not enough words to describe how pissed off I am right now!" Erin pulls away and turns to face him, "They should have told us! I get they were trying to protect us but they should have let us know!" Erin runs over to her husband, grabbing her cell off the counter before leading him upstairs, "I mean…I get it, sort of. With my history with Tyler and the pain he put me through, I can see why they wouldn't tell us," She's stomping up the stairs and into the master bedroom, "but this doesn't just affect me or you for that matter. We have a baby! We have a baby that Tyler thinks he killed Jay," she's tossing his shoes towards him, "If he finds out I lied and she's alive, he might kill her or me or you. He's going to do something to make me pay for lying. Lying is an imperfection," she's ranting as she slides her socks and shoes onto her feet.

Halstead is letting her get it all out; he's allowing for her to rant and rave, knowing that everything she's saying is the truth. She needs to get it out to clear her head. She needs to get it out to think rationally. They're going to leave, but they needed to get the baby dressed first. She's still ranting as she follows him towards the nursery, "I feel so sick right now. My heart feels like it's in the bottom of my stomach right now Jay. I thought this was over. This was supposed to be over. All of the progress I've made-"

"Isn't going anywhere," Jay finishes her statement; the baby is now laying on her changing table and his hands are circled around his wife's upper arms, "Look at me Er," he waits to gain her focus, "You've survived him once, you'll survive him again. He's just a man. He's not some immortal figure that's unbeatable. He won't get away."

Her lip quivers and it breaks his heart, "I'm not in detective mode when I'm with her. I'm not focused on being a cop. I can't do my job when she's with me."

"You can't do your detective job, but you can do your mommy one," he asserts; he's clearly scared and freaking out on the inside but he hides it. He hides it for her benefit, "Now, we both are already dressed and we have our shoes on. You're going to get the baby dressed while I go downstairs and make her a bottle. I'll pack up her diaper bag and then we'll leave, okay?" When she nods, he leans forward to press his lips against her forehead; he holds her close, his lips unwilling to move from her forehead until he hears another boom of thunder, "I love you."

"I love you too." She declares, desperately wanting to hold onto him but knowing that she must let him go, "Take your gun with you!"

With shaky hands and cold palms, she puts a diaper on the baby. The oblivious baby stares at the large, bold letters hung on her wall spelling out her name. She's babbling, she's squealing and she's kicking her legs as Erin closes the diaper. Normally when she's getting dressed or a diaper change one of her parents is talking to her or playing with her, but this time it's different. Erin buttons the long-sleeved onesie before sliding a pair of leggings over the baby's legs, "There you go," she scoops the baby into her arms, "nice and comfy. Now," she presses a light kiss against the side of Haven's head, "we're going to go on a little adventure."

Jay reappears, "Here's her bottle; I still need to pack up her diaper bag."

"Please be careful Jay," Erin exclaims, adjusting the baby in her arms before feeding her a warm bottle of formula, "I'm really trying to stay calm but every time you're not in my sight I freak out. I'm just ready to go," and once the last words are muttered, the lights go out. Some sort of sob or whimper comes out of her mouth as she tightens her hold around the drowsy baby.

"The lights probably went out because of the storm; I'll just go hit the power box and then finish packing her diaper bag. When you come downstairs, bring your weapon, the baby and our jackets and then we can leave."

Erin crosses the room in a few steps and presses her lips against her husband. It's a kiss full of fear and concern. She's absolutely terrified and in that kiss she can tell he feels the same way, even though he tried hard to pretend as if he wasn't. The baby continues drinking her bottle in her mother's arms, her eyes closed as she curls into Erin's chest. Jay draws away, cupping his wife's cheek before pressing one more kiss against her lips, "We're probably worried for nothing," he comes in again to rest his forehead against hers, "Tyler is probably in another state by now. He's probably heading towards Canada as we speak."

"You're probably right."

"I love it when you think I'm right."

"Do you have your weapon?"

He nods, and lifts his shirt to flash his gun, "I'll be back in a jiffy," he pulls out his cell phone and uses the light to guide his way. Erin is left in the nursery, now rocking her sleeping baby protectively in her arms. She removes the empty bottle and replaces it with a pacifier.

As Jay leaves his wife and baby in the nursery, he feels the fear that he once tried to suppress come to the forefront. He's panting; his heart feels like it's about to pound out of his chest. His shaky feet, his off balance forces him to clench onto the railing of the staircase. The light of his cell phone illuminates the pathway as he walks towards the basement. He's absolutely terrified; he needed to be strong for Erin, but now that she's upstairs, all of the fake emotions were disappearing. Jay is just ready to leave; he wants to get out of here and go someplace safe. As Jay descends down upon the basement stairs, Erin paces circles around her daughter's crib; she doesn't want to sit her down or go anywhere without her right now. The safest place for them to go is the precinct. Once Jay turns the power back on and packs Haven's diaper bag, they can leave; she just needed him to hurry up.

With the baby fast asleep in her arms, sucking on her pacifier, Erin decides to lay her down gently inside her crib. She isn't going anywhere. She isn't going anywhere until her husband comes back. As Lindsay stands beside the crib, fingers clenching around the bars, she inhales a deep breath. She must remain calm. She has no reason to be worried. Tyler may not come here. He thinks he caused for her to lose her baby so he wouldn't show his face; he probably feels too guilty. Erin pulls out her cell phone and angrily glares down to read the text message from Voight. He's explaining himself; he's attempting to justify why he withheld this information. Erin wants to be upset, but right now she needs him, she really needs him. Erin's stomach feels queasy and her fingers hover above the keys on her cell phone; she sends him a text, accepting his apology and pleading for him to come to her house. She needs the company. Fortunately, he text back almost immediately. Because of their close association, the Intelligence unit had been pulled from the case. His response comes in less than a minute; their shift is over in less than fifteen minutes and they'll be at her house right afterwards. Fifteen minutes until they get off and it's about a ten minute drive from the precinct to her home depending on traffic. Crap.

Some of the fear suddenly leaves her when the power is cut back on. He did it. He hit the switch. She can see. Erin closes her eyes and allows a calming smile to grace her presence. Should she and Jay still leave even though her team will be coming here? If she leaves, she has to pack a bag for Haven and take her from the comfort of her crib. If her team simply comes over, they can spend the night, camp out in the guest room and the living room, and she doesn't have to uproot her baby. She doesn't know what to do. She's unable to think clearly. She's thinking out of pure emotion and she needs Jay to make the decision for their family. Erin stares down into the crib, watching the rise and fall of her daughter's chest before leaning inside to kiss her; when she draws away and closes her eyes, she calls out, "Jay!" And Halstead hears her. He had stayed in the basement, attempting to figure out what had caused them to lose electricity. It was possible the storm knocked it out, but they had a backup generator and that should have kicked in.

When Jay hears her call his name again, he decides to count his blessings and accept the fact that he managed to cut the power back on. He shuts the panel and pockets his cell phone. Jay no longer hears his wife's voice and he starts to grow worried. How come she just got quiet? The second he reaches the top stair of the basement, preparing to call out to her, he succumbs to darkness. His eyes close. His consciousness fails him. His body goes weak and falls to the ground. Jay was knocked out cold; the back of his head will definitely hurt the second he wakes. Meanwhile, Tyler smirks, enjoying the sight of Halstead sprawled out across the hallway floor. He's out cold. Tyler throws the candlestick across the room; he had used it to break the basement window and climb into the house. He had kept it with him as he hid in a crevice, watching as Jay attempted to figure out just how they had lost power.

Tyler eased the basement door shut, kicking Jay's legs out of his way as he closes it. He hadn't meant to cause harm. His forehead leans against the basement door and he sighs and smirks when he hears the angelic voice of Erin call out, "Jay!" He pulls away and turns, stepping over his body as he walks up the hallway, "Jay, is that you?" He suddenly stops walking, "Jay!" The only reason his feet had come to a stop was because of the pictures lining the hallway wall. Some of them didn't catch his attention, but one stuck out to him the most –it was a black and white photo of a baby who couldn't have been more than a few days old. Out of anger, he rips it off the wall, clenching the frame in his hand as he glares into the photo; he hears Erin again, "Jay, this isn't funny! Answer me damn it!"

"She lied," Tyler whispers; his thumb drags itself over the baby's face, "She looked me right in my face and lied. She's a liar."

"Jay, come on, please!" The sound of her voice snaps him out of his reverie; he focuses back in on the moment and reaches down to unclip Jay's weapon from his waistband, "Jay, I swear if you're trying to scare me I will never forgive you! Say something!"

Tyler clenches his hand around the weapon; his knuckles turn white with each step he takes, drawing himself closer to the stairs. He wants to storm upstairs and demand answers. He wants to hurt her. He wants to take her baby. He wants revenge. He grows even more upset, angrier and pissed off the more he stares at the pictures. He felt horrible for months; he blamed himself, never wanting to harm a baby and she led him to believe that he did. As he continues down the hallway, his eyes roam the photos; there were so many of the baby. It was as if he had been a part of her life. Each photo told a story, he watched her grow older and older and in the last photo he noticed just how much she resembled her mother. From the dimples to the beauty mark, she was the copycat image of Erin –the woman who made him fall for her only to hurt him in the end. She was the lookalike of the woman who pretended to be perfect only to reveal her imperfections when it was too late. If Tyler had been successful in taking her baby then he would have had the best of both worlds; he would have gotten to raise her into perfection and have Erin with him in the presence of her daughter –her lookalike.

Lindsay is pacing; she's walking back and forth, increasing speed as she stares down at her cell phone screen. She's looking back and forth between the phone and her baby. She's waiting on a text from Voight informing her that they're on their way; they should be off in the next five minutes. Erin heard footsteps downstairs; she had a feeling they didn't belong to Jay. She had been calling his name and he hadn't answered once. With everything that's going on, he would have answered. Erin sends a quick text to Voight; she's rushing him, she's telling him what she suspects, she tells him that she's going to hide Haven and turn the volume of her phone up and she gives him orders to not text or call her until he's at her house. If she's not there, she wants him to call her cell because it'll lead them to Haven. Lindsay increases the volume of her cell before adjusting the baby's onesie; unbuttoning it and sliding her cell into Haven's diaper before buttoning it back up. She could only hope the discomfort of it won't wake the baby.

Erin wants to get her weapon but she needs to take care of the baby first. Her own safety can wait until she knows her baby is secured. Haven is sucking on her pacifier; it soothes her as Lindsay scoops her up along with her yellow blanket. Her heart is racing as she bounces the baby in her arms, searching with her eyes on where to hide her. The closet stands out; it's the only place and when Erin rushes over to it, she hesitates. She's actually going to hide her eight month old baby in a closet. Mother of the year award probably won't ever be gifted to her. She lays a kiss against her sleeping baby's cheek and she lays another when Haven's buttoned nose scrunches up. Erin doesn't want to let go; she doesn't want to put her down. She wants to hold onto her forever, but she knows that for the safety of her daughter, she needs to do this. She needs to let go. And she needs to get Tyler as far away from her as possible.

The sound of walking increases and Erin grows even antsier. She knows if the sound was coming from Jay he would have said something at this point; he would have alerted her. He wouldn't be heartless and scare her, knowing just how frightened she is. She's terrified. Erin lingers one last kiss onto the baby's head before leaning into the closet and setting the baby down onto the floor gently; she maneuvers the hamper to block her before sliding the door shut. Her hand loiters around the handle, "Please stay quiet," Erin whispers; she feels tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to pour down her cheeks, "I love you Havie."

Suddenly, she wipes the tears from her eyes. She has to break out of mommy mode and pop into detective mode. Erin runs her hands over her pants leg before leaving out of the nursery and running down the hall, entering her bedroom seconds later. The safe is on the top shelf in the closet. And when she opens the door and starts to press the code into the safe, the barrel of a weapon is shoved against her back; her eyes shut as she inhales slowly, "Tyler." The gun is pushed harder into the center of her back and her hands rise to surrender. She had been so close. She was two buttons away from unlocking the safe and arming herself. She had been so close to protecting herself and her family. She needed to keep Haven safe and Jay…her eyes widen at the thought of her husband. He had been downstairs with Tyler and he hadn't answered to any of the times she called out for him. Tyler did something; he hurt him. She knows it. And as tears well up in her eyes, her shaky voice speaks up, "Where's Jay? What did you do to him?"

"If you do as I say, I might not hurt you."

Her mind is all over the place. Her thoughts start to race when the gun slides up her back to rest against the back of her head. She keeps her eyes closed; she's frozen in terror. Fear courses through her bloodstream and suddenly his large hand covers her mouth and his body is pressed against hers. Erin cannot afford to upset him even more. She needs to be good. She needs to get through this to make it back to her baby. With the gun pressed against her head, she can't make any sudden moves. She's unable to push him, stomp on his foot or elbow him in the gut out of fear that his trigger finger is quicker than any act of self-defense. His hand presses against her mouth harder until he hears a grunt, "I just need you to follow orders. If you do that, then I'll let you and your husband live. If you fail, he dies first."

Jay's alive. That's what she got out of what he just said. Jay's still alive. She sighs in relief as his hand slides down her mouth, her chin, her neck, her chest before resting against her stomach. Her heart beats rapidly out of pure nervousness, out of fear and concern. Tyler doesn't move. He doesn't say anything. Erin realizes he's waiting on a response but she doesn't verbally give him one. Instead, she nods her head as much as she could in her current position.

The hotness of his breath could be felt on the skin of her neck. Tyler temporarily pulls his hand away from her stomach to push the closet closed. When it shuts with a loud bang, his hand presses back against her toned abdomen, "I made you lose your baby," his voice is confident and assertive as his hand drifts down, "how about I make it up to you and give you another one?" The fear bubbling up inside of her cripples her; she almost falls over, her legs almost give out and cause for her to crash down, but he's holding her up. He flushes his body closer to hers –if it's even possible- and he presses a small kiss to her lower neck, "Tell me what you want."

"I want you to leave me alone."

"I want to make it up to you."

She reopens her eyes, "You don't need to do that."

"I owe you that. I will never forgive myself for what I did to your baby."

She swallows hard, "I forgive you. You don't have to make up for what you did to her because I forgive you. You didn't mean it Tyler."

All of a sudden, before Erin is even able to process what's happening, he grips her ponytail and pulls her towards the bed. Throwing her onto the mattress, he shoves the weapon against the center of her forehead. She tries –fails- to remain cool. She's breathing deeply; the sound of her inhales and exhales are heard throughout the master bedroom. His free hand reaches over and grips the framed photo he brought with him from downstairs, holding the picture in front of her face, "I know." It had completely slipped from her mind that he probably saw. She had been so focused on protecting her kid and keeping her as far away from Tyler as possible that it never even dawned on her that he knew. He knew Haven survived what he did.

Erin jumps out of her reverie when the picture frame makes contact with the wall. He threw it. He tossed it hard enough to shatter the frame. His now free hand comes to grip her jaw while the other remains pressing the weapon against her head, "Where is the baby?"

"She's not here," she may have been nervous in the beginning, but her voice doesn't give it away. It sounds assertive; she doesn't back down or waver. She sticks with it, "She's not here."

"Why should I believe you? You lied to me about everything else."

"She's not here," she repeats her earlier statement.

"What if I call out for her?" He asks, staring firmly into Erin's eyes, "Now, in the photo album…I saw Haven is her name," Erin's eyes grew wide and he smirked, "I saw correctly then. HAVEN!" He shouts the name as if the baby will respond, "Haven, honey!"

"Are you expecting her to answer you?!" Erin says through gritted teeth, "She's eight months old! And my baby isn't here!" He adjusts his grip around her jaw.

"Why did you lie to me?"

She shakes her head until he releases her jaw, "I didn't lie to you. I simply refused to answer your question! You put it in your own head that she died! I never said those words!"

"Get up," He removes the gun from her head and takes a step back, "Get up now," he uses the weapon to wave for her to follow orders, "Let me tell you how this is going to go. When I give an order, I'll only say it once. If I have to say it again, someone gets shot."

Lindsay does as ordered. It kills her to do as he said but she needed to get him as far away from Haven as possible. She slowly walks out of the room, averting an eye over her shoulder to ensure Tyler was following behind her. When his eyes scroll past her shoulder and towards the hallway, she speaks, directing his attention back towards her, "Where is Jay? Where is my husband?"

"Won't you go check up on him yourself?"

Erin is scared to death, "Is he okay?"

"He's downstairs."

Panic courses through her body as she runs down the stairs. She can hear Tyler following closely behind but she's too worried to focus on it. She's just relieved he didn't go into the nursery. She rather he watched her and Jay than go searching for the baby. Erin just needed to stick to her story –the baby isn't here. She tells herself that enough times to start believing it. When she reaches the downstairs hallway, she sees him. He's out cold on the wooden floor in front of the basement. The rise and fall of his chest reassures her that he's alright; she just needed to touch him, to look at him closely and hold him to know for herself. She picked up speed and dropped down to her knees the second she's at his side, "Jay," she whispers, nudging his shoulder, "Jay, hey baby, Jay," she leans forward to press her lips against his. A few of her own tears drop onto his face but she ignores it as her palm comes to rest against his cheek.

Relief swarms over her Erin at the sound of a groan; his eyes are still closed and his breathing remains even but the soft murmur of a groan eases her worries. Lindsay remains on her knees as her upper body hovers above him, allowing her to caress the side of his face, "I'll get us out of this," she leans low to rest her forehead against his, "I promise."

"Enough of that," Tyler spat, walking over, "now hand over the kid or your husband dies."

Erin's eyes turn a darker shade, "She's not here." There's venom in her words; she'll continue to deny her baby is here regardless of how many times he threatens her or Jay.

Tyler continues to walk over; the weapon gripped in his hand as anger crosses his features. He's pissed. He's had enough. And Erin can read the expression in his face, his eyes directed towards her husband and she knows he's headed for him. She's scared for him. Erin throws her body over his, covering her husband's body with her own; body twisting around and positioning itself to protect him. He stops dead in his tracks; the hand that holds the weapon shakes. She's protecting him with her own body. She's covering him out of fear that he'll shoot. She's willing to take the bullet for him. Tyler steps away, "You chose him over me. You always choose him over me," he bites his bottom lip and shakes his head, "That's okay…because I'm going to find your baby and I bet you'll choose her over him." He slowly backs away, "Now stay put…" He turns on his heel and disappears upstairs to check the crib for the baby.

Erin remained downstairs; she wanted to leave, she wanted to drag her husband out of the house and hide out at the neighbor's house until Voight came. She wanted to do all of that but she couldn't, not out of fear but out of a protective, motherly instinct to stay. Her daughter was upstairs. There was no way in hell she was leaving this house without her. She'll stay. It may not be the safest for her or Jay but she isn't going anywhere, not without Haven. Her body continues to cover Jay as she uses her hand to nudge him awake; he's too far out of it. He's been hit too hard to wake up right now. And Erin is forced to close her eyes and hold her breath, praying that Tyler didn't find her. If he found her then it would be obvious that Erin lied and he wouldn't hesitate to kill her for lying. She adjusted her head against Halstead's chest, bringing it up to rest against his forehead; her body continues to cover his, "I am freaking out right now," she whispers, forehead and nose pressed against his, "I don't know what to do. What if he finds her? What do I do if he finds her?" There's no response –she didn't expect one.

Lindsay's worries start to subside when Tyler quietly returns with no baby in sight. A quiet sigh of relief is released and she buries her head into the crook of her husband's neck, thanking whoever and whatever was responsible for this. Even though he was a bit upset that there was no baby in sight, he allowed a smile to cross his face, "I'm glad you stayed," the weapon is holstered on his hip as he walks over, fists clenched and at his side, "I believe you. Your baby isn't here. Now you can tell me where I can find her." The answer to his question is a shake of the head; he barely notices it since she's still covering her husband's body –she doesn't trust him. And he knows it. And it enrages him. Knowing that she's unwilling to give up her daughter's location and willing to protect and die for her husband infuriates him. Tyler approaches, blindly swinging down upon her. Hit after hit connects with her body and she's too focused on protecting her daughter and covering Jay that she ignores the pain.

It hurts. It hurts a lot but she focuses on something better, something happier, her daughter. She's upstairs and she's safe. She just needed to stay asleep. Lindsay's hands roamed down the side of her husband, searching him for a weapon. She felt the bulge of his cell phone in his back pocket but other than that, he's defenseless. When the next blow makes contact with the side of her stomach, she feels forced to turn around, raising her hands to block his hits as one flew in after the other. She tried to swing. She tried to defend herself. She tried to hold him off until he tired himself out, but she didn't expect for her husband to wake, groggy and confused. His eyes widened in panic when he realized what was happening, however the ache in the back of his head and his weak limbs betrayed him. He had just woken up and he had wanted to act but the unconsciousness that took over him earlier was still leaving his body.

Erin had tried to fight off the man as he threw punches in all directions. That is, until she heard a grunt of pain and a grumble of discomfort and in spite of all logic and judgment, she lifted her head to see if her husband was okay. It was an automatic response; one that felt innate and natural. Halstead's eyes locked with hers. That had been her mistake, her attention being consumed –even for a split second- by her husband's pain giving Tyler the opportunity to deliberately throw a punch to the side of her head. Everything had gone black. She went first and when Tyler noticed that Jay was coming to, clearing his blurred vision and collecting his thoughts, Tyler pulled out the weapon and swiped it across his head.

Time becomes of the essence; he needs to get out of here. He had stolen a car after he broke free and he had switched the license plates so he couldn't be found easily. He was a former detective. He knew how to evade the law. Tyler quickly withdraws the keys from his pocket and races to the front door, opening it to unlock the car and pop the trunk. Jay is first to go; he's the biggest of the two and Tyler does not carefully drag him outside. He uses the night to cover him as he drags the man to the car, only lifting him when he drops him into the trunk. His cell phone falls out of his back pocket and slides further into the trunk. He wipes his hands over his pants –the stolen clothes he took from the nearest store. Tyler ventures back into the house because Erin is next; she's smaller and lighter. He's able to throw her over his shoulder and shut the front door behind him before carrying her away. Dropping her body into the backseat and slamming the trunk closed, he proudly looks up, glancing at the surrounding houses to ensure no one saw.

Haven was left alone. She was upstairs in the closet, fast asleep and sucking on her soothing pacifier. It's the first thought that comes to mind when Erin wakes up. She doesn't know where she's at but she knows she's tied to a wooden chair and Jay is sitting across from her, looking at his restraints and struggling to break through them. Tyler had taken them from their house. Their eight month old baby was left alone. She could only hope that Voight made it there; she needed someone with Haven.

Eyes darting around the room; Lindsay scanned the space for something that could help her. She finds nothing. Besides her and Jay and the chairs they're tied to, it's completely empty. Tyler is nowhere to be found. Erin is taking deep, soothing breaths to find some sort of comfort. With each breath she inhales, there's a growing ache in her abdomen; her face grunts in pain and Jay notices, "Are you okay?"

"I've been through worse," she tries to brush off his concern.

"Erin, what did he do?"

She sighs, "…he just hit me a little; it barely hurts."

"Barely?" Jay repeats, eyeing his wife's discomfort, "you can hardly breathe without grimacing."

"Nothing an ice pack and a pain pill won't cure."

Jay licked his dry lips, "What did he do?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

He shakes his head, refusing to accept her response, "When I opened my eyes, you were on top of me. Why were you on top of me Erin?" He didn't need for her to respond; the look on her face answered his question, "Those hits were meant for me. He was going to kill me."

"You were defenseless I couldn't just let him hurt you."

"Don't do that again."

"Jay-"

"Don't risk your life to save mine."

She shakes her head, "I don't regret it," her voice cracks from the sharp pain coursing through her side, ""I'll do it again in a heartbeat. Haven needs her father."

"She needs her mother too."

Her face grimaces again, "It's my fault he's here. You don't deserve to pay for what I did."

"It's not your fault."

"He found out I lied to him," she whispers, glancing around to ensure that Tyler was nowhere in sight, "He knows Haven is alive."

"Does he know where she is?"

"No."

He sighs in relief, "Good."

"…but that doesn't mean I won't find out."

Their heads whip in the direction of the familiar voice. Tyler is walking into the warehouse, clenching Jay's weapon in his hand as he confidently walks over. While Erin's stomach may ache from the multiple punches she received from Tyler, Jay had a headache and minor back pain from being dragged across the ground. Tyler grabs a chair from against the wall and begins dragging it over, "Let's make this quick. Where's the baby?"

"I already told you."

"Yeah," he nods rapidly, "She's not home, but where is she? And do not lie to me and say that you do not know. There's no way in hell you both don't know where your kid is." He's met with silence. So he waits and waits but no one speaks up. They're looking at each other, having a silent conversation that is unfamiliar and unknown to Tyler. He's had enough; he tightens his grip around the gun handle and storms over to the detective tied tightly to the chair, "I'm not going to ask again and if someone doesn't answer, I'm going to shoot," he aims and presses the weapon against the temple of Jay's head, shoving it against his skin, "where is the baby?"

When her eyes flash to meet her husband's, he sees the panic and the fear set in. She's unable to protect him, to shield him and cover him with her body. She's tied to a chair and she yanks at her restraints but they don't give, "Please Tyler, don't hurt him."

"I won't if you tell me where the baby is."

His eyes turn its darkest shade; he's serious, "Don't saying anything."

"Tyler, I'm begging you. I am begging you. Don't do this."

He shakes his head, finger brushing over the trigger, "Then tell me where she is."

"Don't say anything," Jay asserts; his face is stoic and he stares forward, unwilling to show any emotion that may appease Tyler. Instead, he focuses in on his wife and watching the tears fall from her eyes, "I love you Erin. Always remember that."

"She's at her babysitter's house!" Erin suddenly declares.

"Where does her babysitter live?" Tyler asks, slowly lowering the weapon, "I need an address."

"Erin," Jay warns. And she looks over at him, meeting his eyes and the look on Jay's face tears her apart; it cripples her and if she wasn't sitting, she would have fallen to the ground.

"What's the address Erin?"

"I don't know," her voice is strangled as the gun is brought back up to her husband's head; she swallows thickly and before he can pose the question again, she answers, "I don't know," she squeezes her eyes shut, refusing to watch and allowing her husband's declaration of love to be the last thing she heard before a shot is fired. This is it. This is why Haven will grow up without parents. This is why she has Burgess to look after her baby. Another shot is fired and she jumps, refusing to open her eyes. She can't see him like that. Before it's her turn, she needs to remember Jay as the devoted husband, loving father and the best partner she has ever had. He was the man who gave her everything, from love and safety to marriage and a baby. He was the best and now he's gone. They're both gone as Burgess uses her spare key to lead the team quietly inside. Weapons drawn and suited up, they tiptoe through the house and hear the sound of a wailing baby grow louder and louder; Voight leads the team, racing through the hallway, pointing in different directions for the team to disperse as he carefully and strategically climbed the stairs.

Dawson is close behind; both of their weapons pointed and trained. He hears the detectives shout clear as they search each room downstairs, including the basement. Erin and Jay are nowhere in sight. Dawson separates from Voight to scan the master bedroom as Hank continues on his quest to the nursery. The cries grow louder, more erratic and frantic as he moves closer to the baby's room. Hank storms into the baby's room and scans his surroundings; Dawson continues to search the upstairs of the house with the other detectives joining him. When the nursery is cleared, Voight holsters his weapon as he rushes over to the sound of the baby's cries. The team gathers in the room, all wide-eyed and frantic as they watch as he opens the closet door. He leans inside and the detectives patiently wait as he lifts and pulls the inconsolable baby out of it, "hi sweetie," he bounced her in his arms; the pacifier was gripped in her hand and she was scanning the room.

"Tyler isn't here," Olinsky announced, pacing back and forth as Voight attempts to soothe the baby. It isn't working. She's uncomfortable being laid upon Hank's vest. It's rough and hard.

Haven wants to be consoled. She wants to be tended to and held; she wants to be cuddled, kissed and comforted. When her cries continue to increase, Burgess decides to step in; she unclasps her vest from around herself and tosses it onto the floor, "I'll take her."

Voight is hesitant to hand her over. He draws her further against his chest when Kim takes a step closer, her hands come out and her arms open. Haven leans towards her; she desperately needed a different type of comfort -the comfort that came from a woman. She is pulled into Kim's arms and her head finds ease and comfort from lying against Burgess' chest; her bosom providing a cushion for Haven's head as her cries begin to settle. Hank smiles, patting the detective's back in gratitude before scanning the rest of his team, "Adam, call Jay. Atwater, call Mouse. Lindsay and Halstead aren't here so that means they have to be with Tyler; there's no way they'll leave her in a closet if it wasn't to protect her."

Kim is relaxed; she was told by Erin that babies can sense discomfort and they know if you're upset and comfortable. She had to do everything in her power to remain calm. Jay's phone continues to ring until it goes to voicemail; Ruzek called three times before Voight instructs Atwater to order Mouse to trace Jay's phone. If it wasn't in the house, he had to have it on him. Even though they didn't know, it was currently lying in the trunk of the stolen car after falling out of Halstead's pocket. Kim notices the growing concern of her teammates as they wait for a location from Mouse; she adjusts the baby in her arms, supporting her head with one hand while supporting her bottom with the other. Haven's head rest against her chest; the sound of Kim's heartbeat starts to soothe her. The detective rocks side to side, humming softly in the infant's ear as the team quietly backs out of the room. They have an address and they're leaving her with the baby. If anyone is able to watch her, it's Burgess.

Haven's whines and cries stop just as soon as Jay's scream echoes through the warehouse. The barrel of the gun is pressed against Jay's shoulder; the smoke from the discharged weapon burns into his flesh and Erin cries out, pleading for him to stop. He doesn't. Tyler simply pulls the weapon away and storms towards Erin, "Your turn," he gripped the back of her head as he made eye contact with her husband, "I'll give you the opportunity. Where is your baby?"

"I don't know," Jay forced the words out of his mouth in a strangled whimper. The first shots fired were warning shots and when the last shot came from the gun, he used the weapon's hot mouth to burn his shoulder, marking him with the constant reminder of Tyler's torment.

"Tell me!" He shouts; his hair is wild and his eyes are crazed as he grips her hair and pulls it back harder, "Where is her babysitter? Where is the baby?" Tyler grows more enraged each time he's forced to ask. He trails the cooled weapon down the side of her face, down her neck before bringing it over to rest beneath her chin, "Come on Erin, let me know. Let me know."

When she says nothing, he steps away. His hand trembles around the weapon as he starts to pace circles around her. His behavior reminds her of that night in his basement. Tyler had snapped once again. He's only able to keep his cool when he's in control, when he has the power and when he's getting his way. Tyler holsters the weapon, "This is unbelievable! You two would rather die than tell me where I can find your kid! How fucking crazy are you?"

"We love her too much to just give her location up to you," Erin whispers.

And Tyler shakes his head, refusing to accept that answer, "There's not enough love in the world for that," a devilish smirk stretches across his face, "No one loves someone that much."

"…maybe that's why you turned out the way you did," she retorted.

"Are you about to psychoanalyze me Erin?" Tyler joked, sporting a grin to match, "Let's cut the bullshit and stop stalling. I'm going to figure out where your daughter is. When I knocked your husband out, you stayed upstairs. Why didn't you come down?"

"I didn't know."

Tyler shakes his head, "You kept calling his name. You were concerned. You didn't get curious when he didn't answer?"

"No."

"Why were you getting your gun?"

"I heard you escaped."

Tyler smirks, "Why would your daughter be at her babysitter's house so late?"

"I didn't have a chance to pick her up."

He shakes his head, "I checked your daughter's room. I saw an empty bottle."

"I have a habit of leaving them around."

His hands shake as he starts to put the pieces together, "I can't believe I didn't think of it before; I can't believe it didn't click."

"What are you talking about?" Jay finds his voice; he's worried and his wide eyes meet Tyler's angered expression. The latter of the two begins pacing; his eyes averting between the couple and the more he fails to gain Erin's attention, the more upset he gets.

"When I went upstairs, you had time to leave," he stops in front of Lindsay and looks down at her, using the tip of his finger to angle her head up. She's forced to meet his eyes.

"I couldn't leave my husband."

"You had a window of opportunity to drag him out of the house and get help, but you didn't leave."

"I didn't know when you would be back."

"No, that's not it. Jay is capable of taking care of himself," he asserts, tightening his grip around her chin, "You didn't leave because you were protecting someone, someone else that was in the house. When I went upstairs, you were afraid I was going to find her, weren't you?"

"No."

He starts to slowly back away, "Your daughter was in the house the whole time!" He watches them struggle to break through their restraints and he smiles every time they fail, "You didn't want to leave because you didn't know if I would find your daughter!"

Erin shouts, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go back to your house and take your baby."

"Get back here," Jay demanded, pulling at the rope knotted around his wrists, "Tyler, I swear, if you touch her, I'll-"

"You'll what?" Tyler declaimed smugly, crossing his arms over his chest, "You'll never see me or her again. And you know, I never break my promises."

"Tyler, please-"

"You lied to me! TWICE!" His booming voice echoes around the warehouse; he's angry when his hand hits the light switch, swallowing them all in darkness, "and this is your punishment for that. You'll have to live knowing your daughter will be growing up without you."

As the door shuts behind him, he hears the sound of their drowned out, muffled shouts fade away. He's quick to get in his car, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the main road just as the Intelligence team pull in –sirens off to use the element of surprise. He's speeding through the streets, switching lanes and dodging cars in his haste to get back to her house. Unbeknownst to him, Haven is no longer alone; Kim is with her and she had just been put back to sleep. By the time Tyler reaches the house, the unit is busting down the door to the warehouse, turning on the lights and raiding in., shouting clear as they spread out. Erin and Jay continue to pull at their restraints, "Untie us," Erin asserts, as the team rushes over.

Atwater starts to pull at the ropes around her wrists, "Are you two okay?"

"My baby…where's my baby?"

"She's at your house with Burgess," he assures, releasing the ropes to allow them to drop.

"Where's Tyler?" Voight ask, untying the restraints around Jay's wrists.

Erin jumps to her feet, following after Jay as he rushes out of the building, "He's going after my baby," she shouts over her shoulder. The team doesn't have the opportunity to ask further questions; time is of the essence. Voight chases after the detectives as he radios in their location.

Ruzek has been calling Burgess since he got word from Erin that Tyler was on his way to her house. She hadn't answered. He had been forced to leave a voicemail and then another when she doesn't pick up again. She's busy. She's rocking the sleeping baby in her arms when she hears a noise. A part of her isn't worried. Tyler is with Erin and Jay, probably far away from this location. However, another part of her –the detective part- needs to check it out. The baby is fine and it's probably nothing, but she needs to make sure. Kim leaves the baby in the crib and her vest onto the floor as she steps out of the room. Weapon drawn, just in case, she approaches the top of the stairs, peering over and trying to glance downstairs without going; she wants to keep the nursery within sight. She'll never forgive herself if something happened to that baby. Kim stands tall at the top of the stairs, holding the weapon out as she waits for another sound. She hears nothing. She doesn't hear anything and the second she lowers her weapon, she hears a voice, "It's been a long time Kimberly," and before she could respond or turn to face him, he shoves her, causing her to tumble forward and fall down the stairs. The second she lands, face first and leg bent, he sighs, "Now would be the perfect time to get that tattoo of yours but unfortunately I need to get out of here."

Tyler eagerly rushes into the nursery and turns on the light; his heart swells up, knowing that within seconds, she'll be in his arms. He has to hurry. He doesn't have much time. Tyler runs up to the crib and stops when he sees her; she's peacefully sleeping. And he becomes so happy at the sight of her. She's such a pure and innocent baby laying there, sucking on a pacifier. Tyler draws away from the crib and grabs the first bag he spots. Opening it and shoving whatever he can lay his hands on inside of it. He flings it over his shoulder and grabs a blanket to wrap around the baby as he lifts her up into his arms. Haven remains asleep. She's such a doll. Her cheeks turn a rosy shade as her little lips stretch into a grin. Like all babies do, she's dreaming of the angels. He adjusts her in his arms; this is his first time holding a baby and he doesn't know what he's doing. It's obvious from the awkward way he's holding her. It's uncomfortable enough to wake her from her slumber and the moment her eyes open and she takes in the face of the stranger, she starts to whine. She cries frantically. She doesn't recognize him. He continues to adjust her around in his arms as she looks around, crying in search of a familiar face.

Haven doesn't want to be with him, in his arms or in his presence. She's crying and wailing at the top of her lungs. Her watery eyes are in search for one of her parents. She's tired, upset and in need of a familiar face. Tyler doesn't have the time to soothe her; he holds her under his arm and carries the bag over his shoulder as he rushes out of the room. Carefully descending upon the staircase, stepping over Kim as she groans, struggling to get up and stop him.

"Wait," she groans, extending her hand. Tyler ignores her, carrying the sobbing baby away.

Tyler slams the front door behind him and the cool air sweeps over his face, chilling his cheeks as he rushes over to his unlocked car. He throws open the passenger side door and lays the baby onto the seat. He didn't have time to find her car seat; he had to be quick. Tyler knew that at any moment the police would be there; he had to get as far away as possible. He's absolutely clueless over what he's doing. He sits her up and uses the seat belt to strap her in. She's eight months old and she needs her car seat but Tyler refuses to go back for it. Instead, he slams the door and races over to the driver's side, starting the engine and laying a hand over Haven's tummy as he backs out of the driveway. He drives carefully, much more safely than he did on his way to the house. He may have been following the laws of the road, but the Intelligence team wasn't, they're dodging cars and speeding through traffic lights with the sirens on as they patiently wait for Mouse to update them on Tyler's location, "Damn it," he hits his keyboard, "I lost the trace on his phone. It must have died!"

Jay's jaw is stern as he bites upon his bottom lip. His fist tears into the back of the passenger seat. He's sitting beside his wife in the backseat as Voight drives with Ruzek beside him. Dawson, Atwater and Olinsky are in the second truck, following behind the first. They're on speaker, listening in as the team discusses their next plan of action. Erin's in the backseat, beside her husband and struggling to suppress the tears in her eyes. In her peripheral, she notices his leg shaking and she extends her hand to rest upon it, "This is my fault," her voice breaks.

"No," he asserts; everyone is too focused on shouting at one another to hear, "it's not your fault."

"I lied to him."

"If you would have told him the truth, he would have taken her sooner."

She wipes her tears away with the back of her hands, "Burgess isn't answering her phone Jay. Something is wrong. Why wouldn't she answer?"

"…maybe she's feeding Haven a bottle."

"I gave her one before she went to sleep," she counters.

"…maybe she's playing with Haven."

"It's past her bedtime. Haven would be too grumpy to play."

"…maybe Haven woke up and she's rocking her back to sleep."

Erin nods, "That's a possibility." His hand lies upon hers as his knee continues to shake nervously. Ruzek had continued to call Burgess and she hadn't answered once.

"Where would Tyler go?" Voight's booming voice rips through the truck.

Ruzek looks back at them, "Where would Tyler take her?"

All eyes seem to settle on Erin. She's thinking hard but she has absolutely no idea. She hardly knows the man. Everything she thought she knew was a lie. He pretended to be someone he wasn't. She befriended a man who wasn't who he appeared to be. And now she was forced to think like him, to try and figure out what he would do, but she couldn't and she felt guilty for that. Erin's eyes desperately looked around; she could hear Mouse through the phone, waiting patiently for another order when it finally clicked, "Mouse," she sits up in her seat, "I put my phone in Haven's diaper. Trace it."

"If he left with her, he probably found it."

"It's worth a shot Mouse," she retorted, sitting back in her seat, "Trace it."

Mouse says nothing in response. He quietly withdraws himself from the conversation in the car to trace her cell. Typing in her number into the database, he allows the computer to do the work. The trace only last for a few minutes, but it honestly felt like hours. And when the computer beeps, signaling it's done, they all tune into the call. He sends the address to Ruzek's phone, "they're at a motel," the detective informs, typing the address into the GPS, "Wait," he looks back at his friends, "if he took the baby to the motel then where is Burgess?"

"Mouse," Halstead shouts just as the sirens are cut on, "I need you to send an ambulance and a squad car to my house." Mouse hangs up the call just as the orders are sent. Jay and Erin are handed spare weapons and as Hank drives the truck, weaving in and out of traffic, they prepare themselves. No one knows what they're going to walk in on; they must be prepared for anything. And that's why Voight's eyes meet Erin's when he looks into the rearview mirror. He needs for her to be ready, no hesitation and no doubt. He'll support whatever decision she makes.

Tyler withdraws the key to the motel room from his pocket. He's racing towards his parked car. He'll leave early in the morning when some of the heat dies down. Tyler is parked near his reserved room. And holding the key between two fingers, he opens the passenger side door, "Alright little lady," he grins, reaching inside the vehicle to lift the crying baby, "papa's got you my little perfection," he scoops her into one arm while grabbing her diaper bag with the other. She continues to cry. She doesn't want to be here. She doesn't know him. She wails louder, her arms flailing around as she desperately cries out for a familiar face, "We need a new name for you," he talks over her crying; he actually ignores it, "what about uh Joy or Hope or maybe Sarah? Do any of those names sound like they fit?"

As he carries her towards the room, she starts to cry louder; her face turns red, her eyes are puffy, her mouth is wide open and her arms are flailing. She remains to be uncomfortable. And her crying continues even when an older couple approaches, "Oh, she's just adorable," the gray-haired woman cooed, "I love seeing a dad and his little girl. You don't see that too often."

"Yeah," he presses a kiss against the baby's head, "she's absolutely perfect. She's the apple of my eye," he bounces her in an effort to calm her down; "this little lady is Sarah."

"Hi Sarah," the eldest man greets, waving at the eight month old. She continues to cry though. And Tyler is embarrassed; he's absolutely mortified that she's giving him away.

He blushes, "If you would excuse us, we should be getting to our room. She's tired and cranky."

"Oh we understand," the woman assures, patting the baby's chubby thigh, "we have three kids of our own. They're all adults now but I remember when they were this age like it was yesterday."

Tyler doesn't move until the elderly couple disappears. They're heading towards the lobby, most likely going to the vending machine. He adjusts his grip around the baby's waist and continues on to his room. When he arrives to the outside of his motel door, he sighs, knowing that in a few minutes, they'll be in the clear. Tyler inserts the key into the lock and begins to turn it when he hears Erin's enraged and irate words, "Give me back my fucking baby or I will end you."

How did she find her? How did she catch him? How had he messed up? Tyler drops the key to the ground along with the diaper bag on his shoulder. He slowly turns around, readjusting his hands around the baby's torso, flushing her back against his chest. A wicked grin is on his face when his eyes meet hers, "Congratulations Detective Lindsay on being the smartest one in your unit," his eyes scan the detectives surrounding him with their weapons drawn, "you're always the one to figure it out first. What's your secret?" As he talks, his hand trails up the side of the baby while the other continues to hold her against him. He brings his hand to the side of her neck just as the smirk falls from his face, "Drop the gun or your beautiful kid here gets a broken neck."

It's obvious he's desperate. He's desperate enough to threaten the life of a baby. The team moves in closer and his fingers lightly caress the side of the baby's face. It's soothing to the baby but it's taunting to the parents. He's threatening her without saying any words. Orders are shouted from each team member but he ignores them. The team continues to surround him and he moves away until his back is pressed against the door, "Don't make me be cliché and remind you all that we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"You're not going to get away," Jay warns; his eyes scanning for a way to get the upper hand. He doesn't find one. It's all too risky. It's a possibility the baby will be hurt.

"You're not going to shoot me and risk hitting your baby," Tyler smirks, continually caressing the side of her face. She's calmed down now with her eyes set on her parents. Erin's trying to remain focused on Tyler but she's unable to keep her eyes from falling onto her baby. She finds herself smiling when she's comforted by an innocent coo from her daughter. Haven has absolutely no idea what's going on and her parents are perfectly okay with that.

Erin really wants to hold her. She wants to hug her and squeeze her tightly in her arms. Erin wants her baby and she's forced to look away from her and towards Tyler in order to achieve that. With her weapon still drawn, she questions, "What do you want Tyler? What do you hope to accomplish from all of this?"

"You lied to me."

"You lied to me too!"

"You never told me your daughter survived!"

"And you never told me that you were a fucking serial killer!"

Tyler slowly nods, biting his lip until it starts to draw blood, "I knew if you found out, you would never accept me."

"I wonder why…" she sarcastically spat.

"Out of all of them, I cared about you the most."

"Out of all of them? Out of all of your victims you mean."

"I cared about you the most," he admits.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I felt guilty for thinking I killed your baby. And you let me live with that guilt"

"Imagine what the victims' families are living with knowing their daughters were killed."

"They had so many imperfections," he attempted to explain.

"That doesn't justify you killing them," Erin retorts, taking a cautionary step forward, "You're a monster Tyler, but can you do this one good deed? Can you hand me back my baby? You know this won't end good for you and I think you and I agree when I say we don't want her to get hurt in all of this. She's innocent. She's defenseless. She hasn't done anything wrong."

His chin trembles as he suppresses his tears, "I'm never going to see the light of day again."

"That's no one's fault but your own."

"They're going to lock me up and throw away the key."

"Tyler-"

And she cuts herself off when she sees him extend the baby towards Jay. Her husband holsters his weapon and quickly reaches out for her, only for Haven to return the gesture and lean into his open arms. Jay draws her up against his chest, pressing an endless amount of kisses against her face. He doesn't care where the kisses land; he's just relieved that she's back in his arms. Tyler remains surrounded; the only person distracted is Jay as he diverts his daughter's attention away from the scene playing out a few feet away. His forehead is pressed against the baby's as her hands toy with his face; she's giggling and completely unknowing of what's occurring away from her. Erin keeps her gun leveled and aimed, "We have to read you your rights. You were a detective; you know how the process goes."

"I'm not going back to prison."

She cautions, "Tyler-"

"You don't understand," he cuts her off; "I was a cop. I was a serial killer. I killed a bunch of women. I'm a dead man if I go back to prison."

His eyes fall towards the weapon in her hands and she automatically knows what he's going to try to do. She shakes her head because of it, "Don't do it. Don't be a coward."

Immediately Tyler reaches into his waistband and withdraws his weapon. Before he can fire off a shot, Erin's gun goes off, once and then twice, shooting two bullets through the air and watching as it tears through his chest. Each detective watches the gun fall from his hands. Atwater steps forward to swipe it up off the ground just as Tyler falls back and slides down the closed, motel door. Time seems to go by so fast; Erin is frozen, staring at Tyler's body until it's covered with a white sheet. She didn't even realize the paramedics and the crime scene investigators were on the scene. She had been frozen still, unmoving and unblinking until Voight approaches her, sliding the weapon out of her hands, "Hey kid, you did good."

"He'll never see his day in court," she whispered, continually staring down at the white sheet; her eyes are glazed over and there's a far off look in her expression.

He hands the weapon to Dawson before circling his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his arms, "We all knew he was guilty."

"He never paid for what he did."

Voight rubs her back soothingly, "He's paying for it right now in hell."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?"

He turns her around to face him, prying her attention away from Tyler's body, "It's going to help you sleep at night. It's over. You don't have to testify. You don't have to worry about him."

"After everything he put us through," she whispers, leaning into his embrace, "it's finally over. It's really over and I'm relieved that he's gone." Voight's hand rubs circles into her back as she continues, "Does that make me a horrible person?"

"…not at all."

"He killed so many people. He tried to kill me. He hurt my husband. He took my baby; he threatened to kill her. He hurt Burgess…twice," and before she's able to finish her thought, her eyes widen and panic sets in, "Burgess, she was at my house! Did the paramedics get there?"

"Hey," he grasps her upper arms, "calm down. Burgess is fine. The paramedics have taken her to the hospital. I've been getting updates. She has a minor concussion and a broken leg."

"She's going to be fine though, right?"

Voight presses his lips together tightly, "She's expected to make a full recovery."

Erin slowly nods and pulls herself out of Voight's arms, flinching occasionally from the pain in her side before turning back to face the white sheet covering her tormentor's body. She stares, unmoving and unblinking. She's frozen until she finds the strength to walk over and bend over to pull back the sheet. His eyes are wide open and with a shaky hand, she lowers it to brush over his lids, closing them forever. She feels herself choking up when Voight walks over, setting his hand upon her shoulder to squeeze it reassuringly, "Jay is sitting on the back of the ambulance with Haven; the paramedics checked her over and she's fine. She's tired, but she's healthy." She nods, indicating that she heard what he said. However, her eyes remained staring down at Tyler's face, taking it in one last time and remembering each detail on his face. Voight moves to leave her alone.

Lindsay sniffs, "Hank, wait," she catches him before he walks away; her fingers wrapping around his wrist to pull him back over, "Don't go."

"Talk to me kid. What's bothering you?"

With glossy eyes, she looks up at him, "Why am I crying?"

"Huh?"

She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, "Tears are falling from my eyes; I'm crying, but I don't know why. I hated him. I absolutely despised him, but I'm crying because he's dead?"

"You're crying because it's over."

"I am?"

Voight pulls her to stand up straight, "Those are tears of relief. It's over Erin. He's gone." She crumpled in his arms, burying her face into his shoulder and cried loudly. He held her up and hugged her tighter. She cried louder –feelings of relief, joy, happiness and a little guilt swarmed within her all at once. She couldn't control it. The tears and the sobbing kept on coming, shaking her shoulders and her body trembling in his arms. Her sobs, it was a primal sound muffled by the shoulder of her sergeant. His hand running up and down her back as she holds him tighter, unwilling to let him go. Voight pressed his lips against the top of her head; the strands of her brunette hair tickling his chin as the kiss lingers, "You need a pick me up."

She draws away, "I'm not in the mood for a pick me up."

"Even if it's from her," he wonders, pointing over her shoulder to show Jay carrying Haven over.

Lindsay takes one last glance at Tyler's covered body before looking over at her husband and her baby. Haven was cheery; she was giggling in her father's arms as Jay pressed kisses against her face. Everything that happened in the last couple of hours had been forgotten. She was fine. She was happy. And without giving Tyler another thought, she runs over, ignoring the minor pain coursing through her abdomen. Jay was taking too long to get to her so she closed the distance herself. Wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face against the crook of her daughter's neck, "What did the paramedics say?" Erin withdraws the baby from her husband's arms and cuddles her within her own.

"She was a little shook up but she's fine," his hand laid against her lower back, "She's really tired though. This is probably the latest she's been up in forever."

"I want to see Kim; I want to thank her," Erin informed, turning away from the baby in her arms in order to look up at him, "And I want a nurse to take a look at your arm. That's a pretty bad burn…and before you say you're fine, can you humor your poor wife?"

Jay brushed her lips with his, "I put her diaper bag in the truck. Let's get to the hospital."

She smiled, "I love you."

Jay didn't need to say it back; she already knew. And after smearing a kiss to her tired baby's head, she walked over to the truck. The ride was slow and very cautious; they didn't have the baby's car seat and were technically breaking the law. Fortunately the streets weren't filled with too many cars and the seat belt was snugged tight over Erin's chest, the baby sitting on her mother's lap and held securely in her arms as the car drives below the speed limit. The remainder of the team was going to meet them there. Ruzek left with the others, wanting desperately to be by his fiancée's side. It needed no explanation. They all understood when he hopped in the second truck with Atwater and Dawson in order to speed off towards Chicago Med. Erin and Jay were in the backseat as Voight drove with Olinsky in the passenger seat, looking back and forth between the road and the baby dozing off on her mother's lap.

Haven sat facing Erin; her short, chubby legs spread open and around her mother's hips as her face lay on Erin's chest. She was fighting sleep, sucking on the pacifier as her eyes fluttered open and close. The smooth car ride worked against her. The seat belt was strapped over Haven's back, securing both she and Erin to the seat. Lindsay ran her fingers through the infant's hair, massaging her skull until she lost the battle, "She's finally out."

No one responded. They all found comfort in the silence of the car ride. The dull, passing lights faded with each mile the car traveled. By the time they reached the hospital, Haven was in a deep sleep. Lindsay nodded for Jay to leave the vehicle in search of a nurse while she carefully –and with Voight's help- got out of the truck without disturbing the baby. Olinsky remained inside the vehicle, waiting for Voight to rejoin him. When Erin begins walking towards the entrance of the hospital, she felt Hank tug on her arm, "Hey kid, wait up."

"How about I hold the baby while you go check up on your husband?"

Erin glanced down at the baby in her arms, "Are you sure? I know it's been a long day and you and Al are exhausted. I can manage."

"Hand her to me," he commands, extending his hands towards the baby, "that's an order Erin. Once Jay is finished getting checked up on, you can come get her and then I'll head home." No other words were said; she allows him to take the baby and the diaper bag from her arms. Lingering her hand down the baby's small back, she walks away in search of the room her husband was being checked in. And when she finds the room and walks inside, she sees April finishing up bandaging her husband's shoulder, "Erin, you're here. If you would just sit where Jay is sitting, I can look at you next."

Erin meets her husband's gaze, "That's not needed April, I'm fine."

"Humor me," Jay remarked, using her earlier words against her.

Lindsay switched seats with him as he pulled his shirt back on while she carefully peeled her shirt off. She flinched a little but she managed to hide it from her husband –April saw it though. Erin slide on to the examination table, ignoring the look of concern from her husband as April pulled on a pair of medical gloves, "You doing okay detective?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Erin whispers, her voice hitching a bit when April's fingers lightly press against her bruised flesh, "My husband is just being overprotective," she bites down upon her lip to suppress the ache caused by April's fingers, "April, you know if you're busy here, I don't mind waiting. I can wait."

"No she can't," Jay argued. The glare in his eyes is a warning; he's staring at her, silently ordering for her to be a good patient.

April moves to Erin's back, pressing her fingers against the bruises, "Lucky for you, the hospital has been quiet. No big emergencies, so that means I'm all yours."

"It's nothing a few pain pills and an ice pack can't fix."

April chucked, "You might be right about that."

"Can you please tell my husband that?"

The nurse steps back, pulling the gloves off her hands, "No broken ribs. No signs of internal injuries or bleeding. Erin should be fine. She'll be sore for a few days but other than that, she's good," April looks over her shoulder to assess the look on Halstead's face. He gives a brief nod in April's direction, but says nothing, as his attention remains focused solely on Erin.

As April left the room, Erin carefully and sluggishly lifted her shirt, being mindful of her aches and pains as she slides it over her head. When her head is through the shirt and her arms are through the sleeves, she notices her husband standing closer, positioned between her legs and looking down to hold her gaze. Her palms lay flat against him, roaming up and down the material of his shirt as she sighs, "I'm really okay Jay."

"Well, maybe I'm not."

Her lips grazed against his, "Penny for your thoughts…"

"It's stupid."

She shakes her head, "How about you let me be the judge of that?"

"Alright," he brings his hands up to gently lay upon her thighs, "Tyler knocked me out and I couldn't help you when you needed me the most."

"That's not your fault."

"You shielded my body with yours."

"And I don't regret it at all. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"I'm supposed to protect you."

"Who says?"

"I do," he whispers, ghosting his lips over hers, "I'm supposed to protect you and before I even had the chance, he got the upper hand."

"He snuck up on you."

His hands continue to run up and down her thighs, "How did you find out he was in the house?"

"I was calling out for you and you didn't answer. I started getting suspicious and hid Haven and was going to get my gun when he showed up."

"And then what?"

"We had words."

"What did he say?"

She licked her dry lips, "He threatened you. He pretended that he didn't know Haven was alive but he did. He wanted to see if I would lie to him again."

"And you did?"

"I didn't know he knew."

"What did he say?"

"He didn't mean to kill my baby and he offered to give me another one."

Jay's forehead fell forward to rest against hers, "He wanted to get you pregnant?"

"I don't know, I guess," she shrugged, "We honestly didn't talk about it long."

"…maybe," his voice is barely above a whisper, "maybe you should get your tubes tied after all. It'll prevent that in the future," She shoved his arm –the injured one, and when pain set in, she covered her mouth with her hands, "Shit, I'm sorry!"

"No," he rubbed his shoulder, "I tried to crack a joke to lighten the mood and cheer us up. It didn't work out as well as I thought. That was my fault."

She gently pushes him to the side in order to slide off the examination table, "The only way I'll cheer up is if I go see Burgess."

"Then let's go see Burgess."

"Wait," she grabs for his hand, "Haven is with Voight. Could you go get her and the diaper bag while I head over to Kim's room?"

He pressed a kiss against the corner of her mouth, "Of course."

While Erin went in search of a nurse to take her to see her best friend, Jay headed back to the lobby. Finding Ruzek filling Voight in on Kim's condition, he joined the two and carefully pulled the baby from his sergeant's arms. Lindsay was taken to Kim's hospital room moments later. She doesn't waste time in knocking. She doesn't ease the door open to see if she's sleeping. She simply barges in, "Burgess!" Erin rushes over to her friend's open arms; Kim's leg was in a cast and she had bandages wrapped around her ribcage that couldn't be seen, but other than that, she was fine. Burgess was awake, alert and smiling. And when their arms wrapped around each other, both women winching and trying to ignore the back and abdominal pain, they both start rambling, their words completely unclear to each other. Kim wipes her eyes as the hug comes to an end, "I'm so glad that you're okay. Erin, I'm so sorry!"

"What are you apologizing for?"

"I was supposed to protect her."

"And you did," Lindsay assured, motioning with her hands for Kim to make room in the bed, "You don't have to apologize because I know you did everything you could."

Kim admits, pulling the covers over her shoulders, "I was so scared. I know how you can be when it comes to Haven's safety; I didn't know how you would react."

"I could never be mad at you for protecting and sacrificing yourself for a baby that's not even your own," Lindsay whispers, circling around to spoon Burgess; her arm carefully flung over Kim's waist as her head rests against the back of her best friend, "I'll never forget that. I'm lucky to have you. Haven's even luckier to have you."

Burgess sniffs, struggling to suppress her tears at hearing Erin's kind words, "I have to stay the night. It's going to be boring here without you. You should stay."

Just as the invitation is given, the door opens to reveal Ruzek, Jay and a sleeping Haven in his arms walking inside. He slings the diaper bag onto the floor as he heads over to the worn couch in the room. Already assuming they were going to spend the night, Jay kicks off his shoes and carefully lies back on the couch, being mindful not to disturb the sleeping baby on his chest. No one says a word. Erin doesn't even provide Kim with a verbal answer. Her actions provided the answer. Ruzek gives his fiancée a kiss to the forehead before walking over to the armchair; he doesn't mind sleeping in it. He knows Burgess needs Lindsay right now just like Lindsay needed her. The room is filled with darkness and Adam's snores create a melody with Jay's tired ones. It becomes a soothing tune, knowing both of their favorite men are sleeping peacefully. Erin buries her face further into Kim's back, closing her eyes and trying to allow sleep to overcome her, but there was still something on her mind, haunting her that she needed to get out, "Tyler's dead Burgess. I killed him."

Kim intertwines her fingers with Erin, "Good." They fall asleep in each other's presence, tangled in the small and somewhat uncomfortable hospital bed knowing that the threat, the man that plagued their life for over a year was finally gone.


	9. Nine Months

The tips of her fingers gripped the headboard of the bed as the back of her head pressed into the pillow. With her eyes closed and her breath even, she smiles as his lips press against various parts of her body: her foot, her ankle, the back of her leg, her inner thigh, the scar on her lower tummy, her hipbone, her breast, her neck, her jawline, her nose, her ear and finally her lips -nowhere was off limits. Jay draws his face away; her mouth stretches upwards, chasing after his but he lands his next kiss against the corner of her lips. His knee is between her legs; his hand is trailing down the side of her naked body while the other holds her hands together above her head, against the headboard. The hand trailing down her body begins massaging against various parts, earning a strangled groan, causing for him to smash his lips against hers to muffle the ravenous moans spilling from her mouth. His teeth tugs against her bottom lip, "We have to stay quiet," he whispers his lips against hers, "We have company."

It was true; they had more company than usual. Haven was asleep in the nursery and Burgess was asleep in the guestroom. Four nights ago, Burgess and Ruzek had gotten into a huge argument, what about? They didn't know. Kim had stormed out and showed up to their home late at night to be comforted and offered the guestroom from her best friend. Erin kissed her husband back, taking control and flipping their positions. He's down and she's hovering above him; knees positioned on each side of him as she leans forward. His nails dig into her back, holding her naked body against his bare chest. Jay held her close, keeping her lying flat against his chest, "Jay, we have to be quiet remember," she whispered this time before he kissed her, deeply and passionately, his hands smoothing over her smooth skin.

When Erin mewled into the kiss, he responded, "Fuck it. If Burgess doesn't want to hear anything, she should have stayed elsewhere."

Her hand came up to cradle his face, "Be nice."

Jay took charge, rolling them over and pressing his weight into her, sinking her further into the mattress. Settled into her opened legs, he made no move to take her; his boxers were on and they created the most uncomfortable barrier. His swollen lips danced along her jawline, "Erin," His breath hitched when she thrusted herself up, trying to get as much movement and friction between them as possible, "Burgess has spent the night for four days," he lifts his head to look into her eyes, "it's time she talks to Ruzek."

Erin blew a stray strand of hair out of her face, "I agree, but I don't want to rush her." And since his guard was down, he was completely caught off guard when she had him back on his back. Her lips rested against his ear and her teeth tugged against his lobe, "Enough about them please; it's killing the mood." A jolt of passion shot through him; he wants her just as bad as she wants him. She pushed herself up, sitting upright as she straddled his hips; her fingers ran down his muscular chest, stopping briefly to take in the feel of his sculptured abdomen, "This'll be the first time we have sex since your vasectomy. No birth control. No condoms."

"About damn time," he murmured, running his hands up along her thighs, "that's been the longest two weeks of my life. And now the waiting is over," His hands moved to surround her hips and slide up and down her spine, "How about we take a shower?"

"Lead the way," she replied; his hands circled around her behind and he carefully lifted her up and stepped out of bed. Holding her protectively in his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist, he moved his lips roughly against hers as he walked into their master bathroom.

As the bathroom door shuts, Kim's bedroom door opens. She stretches and walks along the carpeted floor in the direction of the staircase. As an act of appreciation, she has been cooking breakfast for her friends. She has an unnoticeable limp; her cast came off a few days before she started staying over the Halsteads' house, but she was told to take it easy. Any running or stretching could cause discomfort and she's technically unable to start back up at work until the doctor signs off on it. Burgess hears babbling in the nursery and hesitates before descending upon the staircase. Kim walks into the nursery, coming to a sudden stop when she sees the sunlight cast a halo above the baby's dirty blonde hair. She's standing inside of her crib, holding onto the bars and bouncing up and down, "Good morning Haven," Burgess greets, and the second Haven releases the bar of her crib, she falls onto her behind.

Kim steps forward, hesitating momentarily when she remembers last month. She had been in this very room when she heard a noise and decided to check it out, leaving the baby unattended and unprotected. She still felt guilty, but who wouldn't? Burgess had been trusted to watch the baby and she failed. No matter how many times Erin assured her, it didn't relieve her of the guilt she felt. She's a detective; she should have been able to fight Tyler off, but he managed to sneak up on her and gain the upper hand. Kim had been out of work for a little over a month because of him. And now he was dead and she didn't get to see it. Kim lightly limps over to the crib and extends her hands out for the baby. Haven raised her arms and was happily scooped up into Kim's embrace. As a thank you for letting her stay, she wanted to grant them the chance to sleep in. With her out of work, the whole team had to step up and fulfill the tasks of their missing coworker.

Holding Haven against her hip, the nine month old looks around. Her eyes are open, bright and excited as she scans her surroundings for her parents. She pouts. She glances up to Burgess as they approach the top of the stairs. The shower from within the master bedroom was on; she could hear it along with the moans of her friends, "Oh god," she covered the baby's ears before rushing down the staircase. The second she arrives to the bottom, a loud boom follows, startling both her and the baby. She sets the baby inside her highchair to clear her arms before climbing back up the staircase, "Hey," she approached the outside of their bedroom, "Are you guys okay?" She knocks loudly, worried that the sudden noise could have been because of an intruder, "I heard a noise! If you're all okay just let me know."

The door cracks open, "Sorry," Erin pokes her head out; "We'll be down soon," her voice was filed with a groan of pain. Her face was flushed and tears specked the corners of her eyes. Kim didn't question it further; she simply nodded and backed away.

Kim didn't know what occurred and she was going to ask, just not while they were finishing up whatever they started. She holds onto the railing and slowly goes step by step down the stairs. After turning into the kitchen, she sees Haven watching her, meeting her eyes and smiling when she gains eye contact. Haven was being so good. She was quietly sitting in her highchair waiting for whatever food was going to be placed on the tray. Kim didn't know what to feed her, but she remembered seeing Erin pour her some cheerios when they all watched a movie last night. Burgess goes to the cabinet and grabs the box of cereal, pulling it out and pouring some plain cheerios onto Haven's tray, "Eat up little bit."

"Ba," Haven coos, using her pincher grasp to lift one of the cheerios and shove it into her mouth. Her mouth slowly moved, chewing the one piece of cereal with such a childlike enthusiasm. She loved her cheerios. It takes a few minutes just for Haven to finish the first one. She reaches and finger pinches the next, putting it in her mouth and crunching the plain cheerio between her teeth. Using her thumb and forefinger, Haven lifts another cheerio, holding it as she continues chewing upon her last, "Ga ba!" She squeals, watching Kim start breakfast.

Haven watches Burgess the entire time until her parents walk down the stairs. It draws in her attention. She squeals louder and kicks her feet harder. In both hands, she holds one of her cheerios and her mouth opens wide and her teeth gleam in the light as she laughs. Jay is red in the face as he watches his wife limp over to the baby, "What happened?" Kim smiles, noticing the look of discomfort embedded across Erin's face.

"He dropped me," Erin sighs, earning a hardy and robust laugh from her best friend, "…in the shower; in the middle of having sex, he dropped me flat on my ass." Lindsay ran her hand through her damp hair, "He says he slipped and tried to grab onto the bar in the tub to prevent himself from falling but he dropped me in the process. How chivalrous, right?"

When Jay's cheeks darkened, Burgess started laughing harder, "You got a sex injury Erin."

"It wasn't by choice," she rubs her behind; "I'm seriously going to have a bruise."

"I said I was sorry," Jay pleaded, brushing his hand over his wife's lower back.

She smirked, "And I forgave you, but it won't stop me from teasing you about it," Lindsay walked over to the high chair and leans over to brush her lips against her daughter's forehead.

"So," Burgess stirs the waffle batter, "Jay dropped you to stop himself from falling?" she asked for clarification as she pours the batter into the waffle maker.

"He sure did; I thought he would always keep me safe," She sighed, winking at her husband to signify she was joking, "but to protect himself, he dropped me quicker than I could scream help."

"I didn't even realize I let you go until it was too late," he defended, taking a seat at the table, "I honestly didn't even realize I dropped you until you started groaning in pain."

Erin rolled her eyes, unwilling to let it go, "You were inside of me. When I fell, you came out. How did you not realize something went wrong?"

"I guess I was too preoccupied with not falling," he scratched the back of his head bashfully.

"I always feel so safe in your arms," she sarcastically retorted. Her attention is only pulled away when Haven finger pinches one of her cheerios and extends it up into the air.

Recently, Haven started sharing her food; she loves it. No matter what she's eating, if she's feeding herself, she always wants to offer it to someone else. Erin brushes her strands of wet hair over her shoulder and eats the cereal out of the baby's hand, "Thank you my baby." Her chewing was rewarded by a smile and a few claps from the baby. She swallows the cereal and then looks up, "Something smells really good."

Burgess shuts the fridge door, "I'm making waffles and eggs to thank you both for letting me stay here. That was really kind of you."

"It's not a problem," Erin assured.

Jay looks past his wife to see the baby extending a piece of cereal towards him. He wants to turn it down –Cheerios aren't really his favorite- but he could never deny anything that would make her happy. He grabs the back of his chair and slides it over, taking a seat before eating the small cheerio from her hand, "Thank you Havie." She claps, kicks her legs and squeals as he chews. Haven continues to babble and squeal as if everyone can understand her; she shouts and bounces in her seat as she brings another cheerio to her mouth. Erin is distracted, watching her love innocently sit there, enjoying her food and their company. She's only drawn back into her surroundings when she hears Kim flip the waffles, "Alright Kimberly," she used her full name to hint towards the seriousness in her tone, "not that I'm complaining, I've loved you staying here but you've been here for four days and it's obvious you're avoiding Ruzek. What happened?"

Kim's eyes are drawn over Erin's shoulders, landing on Jay who was struggling not to pay attention. He was currently being fed another cheerio from Haven. Erin dismisses her husband's presence and focuses her best friend back on her, "Jay won't tell. What's up?"

"I don't even know where to start," she sighs, pouring the egg mix into the pan, "We were doing so good, but now he started hovering since I broke my leg. He doesn't let me do anything by myself. He doesn't give me any space. He worries too much. He's not romantic anymore. He doesn't participate in any of the wedding planning. And the list goes on and on."

Erin swallows, "Wow."

"He almost lost you," Jay stands and drags his chair back to the table, "you can't blame the guy for hovering and worrying. He's just looking out for you."

"I just needed a break," Kim sighs, stirring the eggs.

"Well," Erin steps away and heads towards the freezer, "what are you going to do when you guys get married? You can't run away every time. You don't think Jay irritates me sometimes?"

"Hey!"

Erin smiled and ignored his interruption, "You don't think I want a break? You don't think he hovers and worries? Before we got married, he worried every time I broke a nail."

"No I didn't."

"I'm making a point," Erin retorted, before opening the freezer, "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that's how Ruzek shows his love and his concern. He worries. And he's not perfect," she swallows roughly at the sound of that word, "no one is but a part of loving him for him is loving him for his imperfections. And when has Ruzek ever been romantic?"

"He has his days," Burgess defended, turning the waffle maker off.

"It could be worse," Erin reminds.

"Okay, but what about the things he does? Like, he doesn't put the cap back on the toothpaste. He doesn't put the toilet seat down. He throws his sweaty, work clothes on the floor when the hamper is right in the corner. He hogs all the covers. He doesn't clean up after himself."

"Kim, are those deal breakers for you? Because if they're not…then what's the problem?" She finally finds the icepack and pulls it out, sighing in relief when she holds it against her behind, "If you're upset because you and him have argued about it well then welcome to the relationship club. You don't know how many times me and Jay argued over me falling into the toilet because he left the seat up. Or because I have the tendency to sleep with a shitload of pillows. Or because Jay made an unnecessary purchase on the new television in our room. Or because I may take a little longer getting ready in the morning that he does. Or maybe the fact that Jay hits the snooze button three times every morning knowing that we're going to be late. Should I continue?"

"You don't understand Erin!" Burgess exclaims, stacking the waffles onto a plate, "I didn't realize how much these little things bother me! He snores so freaking loud; it's like he's calling hogs or something! He doesn't wash any dishes. He doesn't like to cook!"

"So, what are you saying? Do you not want to marry him?"

Kim sighs, scrambling the eggs in the pan, "Of course I want to marry him; it's just," she sighs, looking over her shoulder to see Jay looking guilty as he watched his wife hold an icepack to her behind, "I just want things to change. This shouldn't be so stressful. I love him with every part of me but he can just be so difficult sometimes. And we work together; we see each other every second of everyday and it gets boring."

"Welcome to my world," Erin asserted, earning a playful glare from her husband.

Haven continues to silently eat her cereal, lifting her cheerios one at a time to shove them into her mouth. The icepack is adjusted against the back of her jeans, pressing it into the sore spot of her behind. She groaned and smiled softly when her husband quietly mouthed an apology; he truly felt bad. Burgess turns back to the stove, "What are we doing today?" It was all of their days off and since Kim hadn't been to work in over a month, she was starting to grow restless.

"I was thinking we can go on a double date," Erin leans her side against the counter, holding the icepack in place, "…maybe we can all go dancing."

Carefully making their plates, she responds, "I don't know if that's a good idea. My cast came off a few days ago."

"…meaning that your leg is much better; dancing can strengthen it back up," Erin chimes in.

"That's a great idea," Jay stands, heading towards the stairs, "I'll call Ruzek." And before Burgess can object, he's already upstairs making the call. She sighs, carrying two plates over to the table, "What about Haven? We can't just leave her here."

"I'll get Annie to watch her," Lindsay waves it off, taking a hold of her plate from Kim.

"Is she comfortable with Annie?"

Erin shrugs, "I don't really know. She's usually comfortable around everyone until me or Jay leaves the room then she throws a temper tantrum."

Burgess set her plate down before bringing Jay's plate over to the table. She pulled out her seat and sat down, noticing Erin hasn't touched her food, she curiously tilted her head to the side, "I cooked and you're not eating."

"I'm just waiting for Jay."

"While we wait," Kim stands, heading to the cabinet and pulling out three glasses, "I need some advice. And I didn't want to bring it up while Jay was down here because he's Adam's best friend and he'll tell him," she withdraws the carton of orange juice from the fridge, "Another part of the reason why I left was because Adam wanted the password to my cell phone."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him no."

"And I'm assuming since you're here that he didn't take it well."

Burgess pours three glasses of orange juice, "That's an understatement. He flipped his shit. He kept nagging me about it. I don't have his phone password and I'm okay with that. Maybe if I had explained it to him and convinced him to see it my way this would have worked out better?"

"No is a complete sentence; it doesn't need an explanation Kim."

Their discussion abruptly ends when they hear Jay walking down the stairs. He doesn't pick up on the tension in the room, and simply takes his glass of orange juice and takes a seat. Gulping down a sip, he looks over to see his wife starting to cut into her waffles, "It took some convincing but Ruzek is coming; he'll be here around five."

"Perfect," Erin exclaims, pouring syrup onto her waffles, "that gives us a lot of time."

"Ma…ma," the baby coos; it's a bit undistinguishable but if you listen closely, you could hear the mama come from her angelic voice. And when Erin looks, she sees one of the last cheerios positioned between Haven's thumb and forefinger and it's being held out towards her. She wants her mother to eat it but Erin kindly shakes her head, "Thank you baby, but you eat it. That's your food," Erin softly responds; the baby doesn't fully understand what was said but when Erin makes no move to eat it, Haven sticks it into her own mouth, "Good girl. Yummy!"

Haven claps and kicks her legs. Her squeals are high-pitched as she bounces up and down. She became distracted once again by the remaining cheerios spread out on her tray. Knowing her daughter is busy, Erin tunes back into the conversation between her best friend and her husband. She continues eating her food, laughing occasionally at a joke one of them said or contorting her facial expression to match the mood of a story told by either of them. The casualness of the conversation felt good; it's one of the many things she loved that came with Burgess staying with them. It was a rare occasion; them sitting down at the table and eating without having to entertain the baby or chase after her as she crawled away. The nonchalance that covered their table felt good; the baby was distracted and occupied while the adults engaged in conversation. It was needed. Her day didn't start off with baby spit up, diaper changes and comforting a fussy baby. Her day had started in the arms of her husband, cuddled up and making out in bed. It was the best way she could envision her day off.

The moment of adult conversation, the short break she had gotten just as quickly ended almost as fast as it had started when the remaining cheerios on Haven's tray are thrown to the ground. She looks over the edge of her seat to see the bits of cereal scattered beneath her highchair. Her claps, laughs and coos earn their attention and when Erin spots the mess on the floor, she involuntarily rolls her eyes. Pushing her unfinished plate away, she stands, groaning at the small ache in her lower butt, "Your daughter has a way of earning our full, undivided attention."

Jay notices the mess, rising to his feet to clean it up, "We can teamwork this. I'll sweep it up while you make her a bottle."

"It's a deal," Lindsay goes to the counter, grabbing a bottle out of the sterilizer and mixing the water and the formula before heating it up. Haven is currently occupied, watching the movement of the broom as it sweeps her cheerios into a small pile. She looks up to meet her dad's eyes before averting her hazel orbs over to Burgess; the detective smiles and Haven pouts, her bottom lip trembling as her mood suddenly changes. Before she's able to elicit a cry, Erin rushes over, extending the bottle towards her, "Here you go my baby," the tantrum suddenly starts as she takes the bottle and drops it on to the floor, "Kid, what is up with you?"

Jay scoops the bottle up and goes to the sink to rinse off the nipple. His wife remains standing before the highchair, smirking as her daughter holds up her arms, gesturing that she wants to be lifted. Her want isn't granted and instead Jay brings the bottle back over, "We'll pick you up once you finish eating," he extends the bottle back and she repeats her earlier action, only this time she watches the bottle fall and trains her eyes on it as it rolls across the floor.

Haven is fussy. She's in a mood. She's going through a phase that seems to have started around the end of her eight month mark and the beginning of nine months. She's kicking her legs, thrashing her body and extending her arms. She was having a temper tantrum and her cries only grew louder the longer she waited to be lifted. Erin finally grants her wish and scoops the infant into her arms, cradling her against her chest, "You're seriously determined to have your mother sprout gray hairs before she's even in her late-30s."

Eating her food, Kim questions, "What's wrong with her?"

"She's been extra clingy lately," Erin answers, smiling softly when the baby buries her head against her chest; she peppers a few kisses to her forehead before continuing, "Since she hit nine months, she has wanted to constantly be in my arms. And it's always mama, right kid?" Erin peered down at the baby in her arms; Haven now calming down was babbling syllables into word-like sounds, "She'll go to Jay and be content with him, but once I walk into the room, she wants me. I'm honestly surprised she lasted this long today. Usually, it's right when she sees me. You haven't seen it because for the last couple of days, we're at work and she's at her babysitter's house before you even wake up. Daddy can do and go as he pleases, but mommy is more restricted; she always wants to be in my presence."

"That's a little sweet," Burgess swallow her last bite.

"Maybe," Erin shrugs, rubbing circles into her infant's back, "but when you need a break to cook or use the bathroom then it becomes a problem. This separation anxiety is ridiculous."

Lindsay leans over to carefully set the baby onto her behind. When she's bent forward, she feels the ache and pull of her behind; it yearns for the comfort from an icepack. Erin rubs her jeans, massaging the pained area of her behind before easing herself back down into her seat. Kim watches, smirking behind her glass of orange juice as it sits against her lips, "…maybe we should get you one of those butt donuts that people use."

She tilts on her buttocks, trying to loosen the pain off of one cheek, "I swear Jay, no more sex in the shower."

"You can't let this one failure ruin it in the future."

"I'm sorry," she retorted, eating a forkful of eggs, "but did your wife drop you on your ass?"

"I'll have to redeem myself."

Erin feels Haven take a seat at her feel; she scoops the baby up and sets her gently on her knee. The nine month old was too active, moving around and reaching for any and everything in sight. She had no worries or concerns as she excitedly tries to pull various things off the table. It makes it next to impossible for Erin to eat; she's forced to put the baby back onto the ground. Haven doesn't disappear though, she doesn't crawl away in search of a toy or attempt to be picked up by her dad or Burgess, instead she uses the chair her mother is seated on and pulls herself up to her feet. Her small fingers grip the edge of the seat, looking up to catch her mother's eyes as her unbalanced feet shake the longer she stands, "ba ah ga," she coos, raising one hand to hold onto her mother's thigh, "la ga goo."

Deciding to try once again, Erin extends the baby's bottle, only for her to turn her head away, rejecting it entirely. The baby releases the chair, holding her balance for only a few seconds before toppling over. It doesn't discourage her. She grabs onto the chair again, pulling herself up and whining loudly as she impatiently waits to be picked back up. She's fussy, extra finicky and overly dramatic, forcing Erin to roll her eyes and scoop the baby back onto her lap. Giving up on eating, Lindsay sets her fork down and turns the baby around to face her in her lap, "Mama," it was music to her ears. Erin can never stay mad, upset or irritated when she heard that. Her heart swelled every single time just as Jay's did when Haven called for him.

Erin stands the baby on her thighs, allowing Haven's bare feet to hold some of her weight as her hands wrapped around the baby's torso holds most of it. Haven thinks she's independent. She assumes she's holding herself up. She's bouncing wildly, giggling and earning chuckles from her parents and aunt. She's careless. She's adventurous. She's brave. And with each trait that starts to arise in the nine month old, her parents realize that they're going to be in trouble when she's older. Haven doesn't fear much. She's a risk-taker. She's bold and strong and very assertive. At only nine months old, Haven is already a force to be reckoned with. Haven erupts into a high pitched squeal, screaming excitedly at the top of her lungs as the speed of her bounces increase.

Lindsay's face scrunches when Haven screams again, "Why are you so loud?" She laughs. Erin drops one hand from around the baby's waist to rub against her ear. The pitch of her daughter's screams only increases with each gleeful bounce and every joyful smile. Erin tilts her head forward and puckers her lips, "Give mama a kiss." And if on cue, Haven leans in and provides her mom with a mouth-opened, slobbery kiss against her lips. Lindsay wipes the slob from off her lips, "Gross. I'm going to need you to learn how to give close-mouthed kisses."

"You asked for it," Jay chuckles.

The baby is carefully turned back around and positioned on Erin's knee as she attempts to resume eating. She wasn't full yet and while her food was warm, she knew she had a few more minutes left to eat it until it grew completely cold. Haven remained occupied with the pepper shaker, knocking it over and lifting it back up. The sprinkles of pepper that fell out of the shaker urged Jay to grab the closest toy and hand it over to her. She lifts the stuffed elephant and begins comfortably gnawing upon its flappy ear, "Hey," Kim leaned forward to smile at the baby, "since I just finished eating, I can hold her to give you a break." Erin doesn't respond, she simply nods and continues to eat her food. Jay watches as he continues to eat his. Kim claps her hands and opens them up, waiting patiently for the baby to notice and lean in. However, no such action occurred. Instead, Haven dropped her elephant and turned in to snuggle against her mother's chest; she buries her face and whimpers softly. Her small hand rests against Erin's breast and she snivels to make it clear that she doesn't want to go.

"Trust me," Erin says after swallowing her last bite of egg, "It's not you at all. If I'm in the room she doesn't want to go to anyone."

Burgess shrugs off the disappointment, "I guess I'll wash the dishes."

"You don't have to do that," Jay stands, collecting his and Erin's plates, "You made breakfast."

"It's okay, really Jay. It's the least I can do. I've been mooching off you guys for days now," she asserts, taking the plates from his hands, "Let me."

Neither of the two argues against it. Burgess is just as stubborn as Erin and if she wanted to give them a break and do the dishes, then by all means, they'll let her do the dishes. There weren't many dishes to wash anyway, only the ones Burgess used to cook breakfast. Erin tilts her head down after noticing the baby's face remains buried into her chest, "Jay, don't forget, you have to go to the DMV today to register your new tags," she brushes her lips against her daughter's soft, fine hair, "I'll probably go to the grocery store today. I've put it off long enough."

In an effort to comfort her clingy baby, she runs her hand through her hair. She's grown so much more hair since last month, but the length still remains short, barely reaching her ears. Kim turns the faucet off after she makes dish water, "I can go with you Erin. I have nothing else to do."

"And I can take the baby," Jay adds, leaning over the table to rub his hand against the side of his daughter's face. She coos into his palm and for the first time since Burgess tried to hold her, she pulls her head away from her mother's chest. Haven's hazel eyes were bristled with tears brought about from the fear of being taken from Erin's arms. She's comforted and calm now. Sitting in her mother's lap while her dad caressed her cheek, it started to cheer her up. She grinned and relaxed, sitting back and resting the back of her head between her mother's breasts, "I swear she thinks I'm some sort of pillow.

"The DMV is already awful without kids so it'll just be torture if you bring her," Erin responded, trailing her fingers tenderly along her daughter's back, "Kim's coming with me. We'll take her."

"Dada," Haven exclaims, lifting her head up, "dada," she continues to shout, clapping her hands and squealing in delight. Jay is overwhelmed; that word may not mean much to most but to him it meant absolutely everything. He would do anything to hear it as much as possible. Before he could scoop her from his wife's arms, she's sitting the baby down onto the floor. Lindsay reaches for the bottle once more and extends it and this time –finally- she accepts it and brings it to her mouth, lying on the ground and sucking upon the nipple. The back of her head rests against the tiled kitchen floor and her feet are in the air; both hands are clasped around her bottle and she's content. Rolling over onto her side, holding the bottle in her mouth, Haven silently drinks.

Erin stands to her feet, subconsciously running her hands over the back of her jeans, pressing her fingers tenderly into her rear. Jay notices and reaches out, tugging her over. He rises to his feet and draws her into his arms; his mouth hovers beside her ear, "I promise to give you a butt massage later," he presses his lips against the lobe of her ear before she turns in his embrace. His lips come to peck against hers and she seductively smirks, "I'm holding you to that."

He kissed her again, harder, more insistent than the last, "Just tell me when and where."

"Guys," Kim groaned, drying her hands on the dishtowel, "there is a child present."

Lindsay cups her husband's cheeks, rubbing her thumbs smoothly against the scruff of his two day old facial hair. She leans in once more, lingering her lips against his before feeling something sit at her feet. Smirking within the kiss, she forces their lips to pull apart, patting his chest to separate them. Erin glances down, meeting the eyes of her daughter who is currently looking up, "Hi my baby," Haven had managed to crawl over, leaving her empty bottle on the floor for Kim to pick up. She had sat on her mother's foot and held her leg until she earned her attention. When Erin didn't act fast enough, Haven stretched out her arms, holding them up and fretting desperately as she pouted. Lindsay scooped her up, the act almost immediately stopping Haven from crying out. She presses her lips against the baby's chubby cheek as she watches Kim head upstairs to get ready to leave out.

By the time Jay and Erin are walking up the stairs, Kim is in the hallway shower, humming loudly to an old school tune. Jay heads to the hallway closet, withdrawing the baby soap, lotion, a washcloth, a bath toy and a cotton ball. She's following behind him towards their master bedroom. They'll have to bathe her in their bathroom since Kim was currently in the hallway restroom. With each step towards the bathroom, Lindsay manages to maneuver the baby out of her onesie before sitting her down in the empty tub. She extends the rubber ducky and as Haven plays with it, she puts the stopper in the drain and turns on the water, "Alright baby, let's make this as painless and as simple as possible for mama," Erin rolls up the sleeves of her plaid shirt.

As the tub fills with water, Erin slides her wedding band off her finger before pocketing it in her jeans. Haven's baby tub had been left in the other restroom and she was unable to get it. The way to solve this problem was simple, she sat on her knees, holding the baby's arm and nodding for her husband to turn off the water before it even covered the heel of the baby's foot. It's barely two inches of water in the tub, but her bath didn't require much. Erin stretches her back and feels a sharp pain rip through her rear; it's getting worse. It'll definitely get bad before it gets better.

Jay noticed and the guilt increased. She must have really been in pain because the teasing stopped. She wasn't grinning or attempting to massage her butt; she was suffering in silence. He stoops behind his wife and brings his hands to cover her shoulders, digging into the tension and leaning forward to press a kiss against her neck, "I'm sorry," he draws away.

"You don't have to apologize anymore babe," she whispered, readjusting her grip around the baby's arm, "You didn't do it on purpose. And I'm pretty sure in a day or two it'll be fine."

The water was warm and comfortable to the touch. With one hand supporting the baby's back, Erin takes a hold of the washcloth from her husband. She drops it into the water and watches as the baby releases the duck and reaches for the washcloth. Erin uses her hand to gently splash water against the baby's body, "Get your ducky baby," Lindsay cooed, taking the washcloth from the infant. She soaps it up and lightly washes the baby, "Isn't this nice? You're getting all cleaned up little girl."

Erin is focused, washing and rinsing soap off the baby's body as Jay's hands start to roam hers. Her breath hitches as his fingers ghost down her sides before landing on her behind. She focuses on the bath, grabbing the cotton balls to clean the baby's eyes before tossing them into the trash. His large hands sit upon her rear before moving slowly in a massage-like manner. She scrubs the baby's feet and smiles when she hears a chuckle, "Jay," her voice comes out rushed; he leans in to kiss her neck, "What are you doing?"

"Giving you that massage I owe you."

She sharply inhales, "I'm bathing your kid."

"Will I ever get a chance to redeem myself?"

She sighs in relief when his hands are removed from her butt, "Of course," she rinses off the soap, "just not in the shower."

"You let me in the bath," he reminded.

She was quick to respond, "We were sitting; I didn't have to worry about you dropping me," Lindsay begins to lightly scrub the baby's legs, "It's obvious you can't hold my weight."

"It wasn't your weight; I just slipped and grabbed onto the bar to stop myself from falling."

"Yeah," she begins washing the baby's tummy, "by making sure you didn't fall, you dropped me."

"Sorry," he blushes and she laughs.

"That was so unromantic; I landed on my naked butt in the shower. I'm going to have a bruise."

Jay presses his lips against the back of her head, "I'll kiss it every night until it goes away." Her laughs filled the bathroom and earned the attention of the nine month old. The rubber ducky floated away and before the baby could reach for it, Jay was letting the water out of the tub.

After washing the baby's face, ears, toes, feet and eventually the baby's hair, her bath was finally done. She extends her hand for the towel and when it's handed to her, she wraps it around the infant and scoops her up. The baby was cocooned in the towel with her mother's arm rested beneath her bottom and hand resting on her thigh. Lindsay carries her over to the sink, sitting her down carefully on the counter to towel-dry her body and hair. Jay held the baby's arm, supporting her even though she was pretty good at sitting up on her own. He didn't want her to lean forward and fall off the counter or fall back and hit her head on the mirror. And with the mirror so large and clear behind her, her hazel eyes become absorbed by it. She's entranced by her own reflection. Lindsay notices and smiles as she carefully dries the baby behind her ears, "Do you see yourself Havie? That's you!"

Haven stares, wide-eyed and fascinated. She reaches out to touch it, to touch her reflection as her mother rubs baby lotion over her body. The baby pulls her hand away when it comes into contact with the glass –she's obviously confused. Haven looks over her shoulder to meet her dad's eyes. He's watching her reflection in the mirror, "Look at you baby," he coos, pointing back towards the mirror. She follows his finger and looks, smiling when she sees both of her parents grinning at her. Erin runs her hand over the baby's face, rubbing lotion against her skin, "Wave Havie," Lindsay mimics the motion and the second Haven lifts her hand and does an awkward wave to her own reflection, this earns the laughter from both of her parents.

The nine month old had been waving for some time now, but she only reserved it for her parents or Voight. They were the lucky ones. Everyone else simply got a bashful smile, an annoyed expression or an unknowing gaze. Without having to be told again, Haven lifts her hand and waves. Her palm goes side to side and she averts her eyes from her actual hand to the reflection of her hand. She's amazed. And to keep her warm, Erin wraps the towel back around her naked body before turning to Jay, watching his hand remain wrapped around Haven's arm, "Since you're already dressed, how about you dress her?"

"I thought you were dressed."

Erin stares down at her clothes, "I want to change. My shirt is wet from your splashing baby. And my butt honestly hurts in these jeans. I want to put on some leggings."

"I like you in plaid though."

She smirks, "I'll put on another plaid shirt while you dress the baby."

"Yes ma'am," he scoops the baby up into his arms.

"Don't forget to put some of her diaper rash cream on her," Erin called out, watching her husband head towards the bathroom exit, "I think she's starting to get a rash. Let's get ahead of this problem before it progresses and starts irritating her."

"I got this," he opens the bathroom door and walks out.

"It's going to be pretty chilly today; make sure you put that beige sweater on her," Erin asserts, following behind him and entering into the master bedroom, "She looks so cute in beige."

He stops walking, "You think she looks cute in every color."

"That's true," she shrugs, walking over to their dresser, "but there's something about her and the color beige. Actually, all neutral bland colors like gray just pops on her." She withdraws a pair of black leggings and another plaid shirt as her husband leaves the room.

Erin hums to herself as she slides her wedding band back onto her finger and gets dressed. Buttoning up her plaid shirt, she looks at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair is damp and curtains around her shoulders. She doesn't care about it. She'll let it continue to air dry. All she's doing now is taking the baby and going grocery shopping –it's a casual event. Erin walks out of her bedroom, zipping up the back of her boots before going down the stairs. She sees Kim in the kitchen, packing up Haven's diaper bag, "You know," Erin watches Kim fold a bib before setting it into the bag, "if being a detective doesn't work out, I wouldn't mind hiring you as Haven's second babysitter."

"Second?" Kim looked up disappointedly, "Why not first?"

"Emily's amazing."

"But I'm your best friend," Kim retorted, shoving a few diapers in the bag.

"Emily's teaching her another language."

"But we knew each other longer," Burgess pours a few cheerios into a Ziploc bag.

"Emily has two degrees in child development and nursing."

"But I'm trained in self-defense," She zipped the diaper bag and pulled it onto her shoulder.

Erin turns her best friend to face her, hands circling around her upper arms, "Emily makes natural, organic baby food to feed her. It's nothing against you; Emily is just trained for this."

Sighing, she rolls her eyes and nods, "I guess you're right; I have to admit it, she is amazing."

"…but you are too," Erin asserts, squeezing her hands reassuringly around her friend's upper arms, "You're the best aunt and godmother there is. We're lucky to have you."

Jay comes downstairs, talking with the baby and ruining the moment in the kitchen. Haven is wearing brown leggings and the beige sweater that Erin recommended. There are no buttons on it and it's snuggled over top of her white t-shirt. Haven has no shoes on –only socks- and it's rare to ever find her with shoes on. She absolutely hates them. She whines or rips them off whenever they're on her feet. With the warm white socks, she's content and leaves them on much longer than a pair of shoes or booties. He carries her over to her car seat, grabbing the handle to pick up and sit upon the dining room table, "Alright, in you go," he carefully sets her inside, buckling the buckles over top of her stomach to keep her secured. He lifts the handle of the car seat and carries it outside, leading the way towards his wife's car.

As she locks the front door, Jay is attaching the car seat to its base in the backseat of her vehicle. Burgess is in the passenger seat, looking over her shoulder to watch as Jay strategically connects the seat belt through the loops of the car seat's base. When he's done, he draws away and waves, "Bye Havie; I'll see you later."

She babbles and raises her hand, clenching her fingers before releasing them to signify a wave. He takes it. He'll take what he can get. As Erin hops into the driver's seat, he pulls at the car seat buckle to ensure it's nice and snug, "I guess I should head on out. I'm not looking forward to standing in that long line and dealing with the rude workers. I swear, having a bad attitude must be a requirement to get hired there."

Lindsay laughs and buckles her seatbelt, "We all have to go through it," the moment she starts her car, he shuts the door to the backseat. Before pulling off, Erin watches him drag his feet over to his vehicle and when she switches gears, she gives the horn a honk before backing out of the driveway. He backed out next, heading in the opposite direction.

"Alright, now that it's just us ladies, talk to me about Ruzek."

"I basically told you everything."

"Do you want to know what I think?" Erin turns her head slightly to face her, averting her focus back on the road moments afterwards. She doesn't wait for permission, she tells Kim her opinion anyway, "I think you're scared. I think you're having second thoughts. And I think you should know that it's all completely normal."

"I know," Kim groans, leaning back in her seat, "but I thought it would happen closer to the wedding date; the wedding isn't until next year."

"Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't look for problems. Don't create issues that don't exist," Erin asserts, providing her friend with the best advice, "Marriage is already difficult, you don't need to make it more complicated. You're overthinking things. Relax."

"That's easy for you to say, you've been married for seven years."

"And I've been in your position."

"Erin-"

"Don't let your fears prevent you from marrying the man you love."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"By not overthinking things," Erin pulls into the parking lot of the nearest grocery store, "We've both been hurt in the past. We've both been wary about lending our hearts out. We both have the tendency to overthink things. And I was worse off than you, if I could fall in love and get married without a problem; I know you can do the same."

Burgess accepts that; she doesn't debate or rebuttal it because she wants it to be true. And to be honest, she wanted to change the subject. She needed to talk about anything else besides her relationship with her fiancé. In order to switch gears in the conversation, she notices how Erin is bypassing most parking spots in order to park directly beside the drop off location for the carts. It was weird. She had never seen anyone search for a spot beside the cart rack, "Hey," she turns to her friend when the car is put in park, "how come you didn't park closer?"

Erin takes the keys out of the ignition and opens her car door, "When I'm shopping with the baby, I always search for the spot closest to where I'm supposed to leave the cart."

"Why?"

Erin laughs, jogging over to the back of the car, "By the time I'm finished with shopping, Haven is always restless, bored and ready to get home. Parking next to this cart rack, makes the process quicker. I dump the bags in the trunk; slide the cart in there and then head home. You'll be amazed with how much time you save by parking next to this thing."

Kim grabs a cart, leaving Erin at the back of the car withdrawing the baby from her car seat. Haven snuggles her head into the crook of her neck, calmly breathing in her mother's comforting scent. Burgess holds the cart in place as Erin lowers her into the front of the cart, sliding her little feet through the holes of the cart before strapping the buckle over her tiny waist. Haven is sitting up straight, grinning excitedly as she takes in her surroundings. Erin is pushing the cart, smiling when she notices strangers beaming at her daughter as they pass them. Everyone with a heart smiled down at the baby when she stared in their direction, taking in their unknown faces and providing them with a toothy grin when they smile first. Haven's small hands wrap around the bar of the cart and she bounces up and down as her mother pushes it into the grocery store, "Are you ready ladybug?" Erin chuckles softly when the baby starts clapping her hands.

Aisle to aisle they travel, Erin occasionally lifting things and throwing them into the cart. With each aisle they travel, Erin starts to notice the baby growing restless. As a result, she pulls the cart to a stop and begins digging into her purse and pulling out the bottle of blueberry flavored baby puffs. She pops the lid and sets it down between the baby's thighs, "Here," Once the baby is occupied, Erin resumes pushing the cart, following behind Burgess into the next aisle, "That guy over there is checking you out," Lindsay notices, nodding her head in his direction.

Burgess takes a look, "No he's not. He's minding his business and shopping."

"Trust me Kim, he's checking you out," Erin looks down at the baby's palm when she holds out a blueberry puff, "Thank you," she eats it from the baby's hand, "but as a source of reference who knows what it looks like when a guy is checking someone out, take my word, he's flirting."

Haven presses her hand against her opened mouth, the blueberry puff falling into her mouth and dissolving inside. She continues to push the cart, dropping a few more items inside before turning down the next aisle, "Crap," Erin pulls the cart to a stop, "I meant to grab some spinach from the last aisle. Do you mind grabbing a bag for me?" Kim nods and heads off. Erin remains in the aisle, scanning the row, brands, types and flavors of baby food. Grabbing the ones she knew Haven liked for sure, she grabbed a few new flavors to experiment. She grabs a few cases of formula and a few different flavors of baby puffs before realizing Burgess hasn't returned.

"What is taking her so long?"

The baby –of course- doesn't provide an answer. She simply finger pinches another puff from the container and brings it slowly up to her mouth. Lindsay reverses the cart, being mindful to watch out for the two kids playing in the aisle as their mother compares prices. She gains enough room to turn the cart around and head in the last aisle she had been in. She immediately found Burgess holding the bag of spinach but currently talking to a man that Erin recognized as the guy who had been checking her out moments ago. The guy had two bags of spinach in his hand, comparing nutrition facts between the two. Erin knows it was just used as a reason to talk to Kim and her best friend was falling for it, at least she was until the guy pats her upper arm. The look of irritation crosses her features. Kim was over the conversation and tossed a pleading look in Erin's direction. She picks up on it and her best friend instincts kick in, "Hey honey," Erin calls out, wheeling the cart closer, "Oh good you found the spinach. Now our anniversary dinner will be complete. We just have a few more aisles to get to and I don't want to jinx us but it seems the little one is content with her blueberry puffs and hasn't whined yet," she pretends to not notice the man until her initial words ended, "Oh I'm sorry. Who's your friend babe?"

Kim goes along with it, leaning forward to press her lips against Erin's cheek, "We're not friends. We actually just met. He was asking me questions on the differences between the two brands of spinach. As you know sweetie, I'm not into vegetables as much as you are so I wasn't that big of a help. We were just saying bye to one another."

The guy is embarrassed; he's flustered as he watches Kim intertwine her hand with Erin. He was momentarily speechless. All she had to do was say she was taken and spare him of the humiliation. The guy opens his mouth to respond, "Sorry, I must be going," it's all he could get out as he quickly backed away, his hand gripped around the handle of the shopping basket. The spinach was forgotten and misplaced on the wrong shelf. Erin goes to retrieve it and returns it back to the cold section, chuckling as she feels Kim's contagious laughter fill the air. They move on to the next couple of aisles before approaching the shortest checkout line. Haven was done with her blueberry puffs and Erin tightened the lid back on before throwing the bottle inside her purse, "Alright baby girl, you're being so good right now. We're almost finished."

Haven was growing restless. She was getting fidgety. She wanted to be free to crawl around. She hated to be confined, especially inside of an uncomfortable cart. Haven's bottom lip started to tremble as they moved up in line. She wants to get out of the cart. After kicking her legs and raising her arms into the air, Haven was growing impatient. Her mother and Burgess were currently setting their items onto the conveyer belt. Erin didn't unbuckle her and lift her from the cart until the baby started crying. She held her against her hip as she used her free hand to continue laying down their items. The lady in front of them in line was currently swiping her credit card, rolling her eyes annoyingly as the baby's whines grew louder.

Kim approached, opening her hands, "Want me to hold her?" And when Erin prepared herself to hand the baby over, Haven's cries grew louder. She wanted to stay. She wanted to remain in her mother's embrace, laying her head upon her shoulder and whining at full volume. Erin shakes her head and holds the baby closer, tightening her arms protectively around the infant, "Look at mama," she coos, peppering kisses against her cheek, "What's wrong ladybug?"

Haven continues to whine; her cries grow louder and louder as they move forward in line. The cashier begins ringing up their items in a quick hurry, much to the thanks of Lindsay. The sooner they got out of the store, the better. The baby probably wanted some fresh air. She wanted to roam around. Haven didn't want to be confined; she wanted to be free. Burgess takes it upon herself to attempt to cheer up and entertain the kid. It was a fruitless attempt because Haven only whined louder. Her mouth wide open, the few teeth in her mouth appearing as her face turns red. Erin cradles her head to her chest and bounces, "I'm sorry," she tells the cashier and the shoppers in line; they simply smile and assure her with the nod of their head.

What was she apologizing for anyway? Haven's a baby. Babies cry. She had no reason to apologize because of the way her kid is expressing herself. The cashier continues to ring up her purchases and once she's done Erin switches the baby to her other hip in order to search through her purse for her wallet. It proves to be difficult and even though it's not what the baby wanted, Erin hands her over to Burgess. The cries grow louder and Haven reaches her arms out for her mother; she's wriggling in Kim's arms and pleas for her mother to take her. She wants her back. And Erin knows it and is quick in handing over her credit card in order to scoop the child back into her arms. It's crazy. Haven is the absolute loudest. She notices children staring as they pass, teenagers rolling their eyes and the occasional adult trying hard not to look her way. With Haven back on her hip, her cries immediately start to simmer down. Kim is putting the groceries in the cart while Erin returns her credit card to her wallet and signs her name along the electronic keypad. Lindsay maneuvers the baby over to her other hip as Haven's hand rests against the side of her face, touching the beauty mark on her mother's face, "Alright baby, we're about to go."

Kim sets the last bag into the grocery cart before steering it away. She throws the purse strap over her shoulder and glances back at everyone in line, "Thanks guys for your patience."

"Most of us understand," the woman behind her responded as the cashier scans her items.

Moving the baby to her front, wrapping her arms below Haven's bottom, she presses the nine month old closely against her chest as she walks quickly to catch up to her best friend. Kim was pushing the cart and holding the baby made it difficult for Erin to catch up, but she eventually did when they approached the outside of her car. Erin pops the trunk, "We're finally outside," she feels the baby nuzzle her face into the crook of her mother's neck. She's such a mama's girl.

"I'm so relieved you parked close to this rack," Kim asserts, piling the bags inside of the trunk.

Erin doesn't respond. She gives her an 'I told you so' look. She multitasks and holds the baby while helping her friend load the grocery bags into the car. As Kim rolls the cart back, Erin notices that a loud wail is no longer filling her ears. Her daughter was asleep, face in the crook of her neck and breathing evenly. Erin presses a kiss to the temple of her daughter's head before carefully lowering her into the car seat, "Here," she tosses her keys to Kim, "you're driving."

"You're exhausted from the temper tantrum your kid just threw?"

Lindsay cautiously straps her in, "I'm going to sit in the back with the baby just in case she wakes. I don't think I'll be able to go a whole car ride with her crying."

Erin and Kim walk around to the other side of the car and when Erin slips inside, she hears the low murmurs of whines coming from the baby. She reaches into her diaper bag and pulls out a pacifier, "I didn't go far," she whispers, inserting the pacifier into her mouth. Haven's eyes slowly close as she drifts back off to sleep. Kim looks over her shoulder, checking for incoming vehicles as she slowly backs out of the parking spot, "Your baby's separation anxiety is ridiculous," she was hesitant to say it but she chose to anyway. She didn't know how Erin would react.

"It's normal for babies to want to be up under their mothers."

Kim steers the vehicle out of the grocery store parking lot, "It's not even like you disappeared and she couldn't see you. She could see you the whole time."

"Sometimes babies just want to be held."

"Maybe it's good that I'm not having any kids."

"Yeah," she glanced at the baby sleeping peacefully in her seat, "you always saw Haven when she's angelic and good; now you get to see her when she's fussy and cranky."

"That was embarrassing."

"Babies cry; they'll get over it."

"I was so embarrassed."

Erin was kind of irritated, "Why? She's not your kid."

"I know but you have to admit it, you were embarrassed."

"I was at first but then I thought about it. Babies cry. Babies get fussy. Babies get whiny and clingy sometimes. That's just what they do."

The ride was silent for the most part, the only occasional noise came from the baby cooing in her sleep or ripping the pacifier out of her mouth to drop it to the floor of the car. She remained asleep though so there were no complaints. The silence continued to remain until Burgess interrupted it, "When did this clinginess start?"

"…maybe a week or two ago," Erin shrugs, "It didn't just start overnight; it was gradual."

"How are we going to go out tonight if she barely wants to be out of your arms?"

"I'll figure it out."

"Good luck with that."

Talk soon turned to the excitement of going out tonight. It felt like it has been forever since they went out and enjoyed time together as friends. Most of the time they hung out, it was for family events that involved Haven or other members in their unit. As she converses with Burgess, she has a texting conversation with her husband. He's currently waiting for his number to be called. He'll be waiting a minute; the DMV always runs slow. Burgess pulls the vehicle into the driveway and Erin is out of the car in seconds, detaching the car seat from the base. She carries it into the house, leaving the door wide open for Burgess to start bringing bags inside. She removes the baby from the car seat and gently lays her down inside of her playpen, using the nearest blanket to drape over her waist.

One trip had already been made by Kim. By the next, Erin joined her, carrying in as many bags as possible. The fewer the trips they had to make, the better. During the last trip to and from the car, Kim turned on her iPod, allowing the music to play through the house as they put the food away. They manage to put away most of the groceries –two bags were left- by the time Haven awoke from her catnap. Her naps weren't as long as they used to be; Erin missed that, but if she wanted her nine month old to sleep through the night, she understood why it had to be.

Haven awoke whining; she wasn't crying, but if she wasn't tended to soon then she would be. Burgess gets to her, scooping her out of the playpen after watching her struggle to pull herself to her feet. Before she could be completely successful and hold her body up by the bar, Kim was lifting her out of it. Haven can stand when holding onto something and she can normally stand seconds after letting go, but it wasn't for long. She has yet to take her first step but she had time. There was no rush and most babies didn't start walking until they were closer to a year. Kim sets the energized baby onto the floor and chuckles as she immediately starts crawling in the direction of the kitchen. She finds an empty, plastic, grocery store bag and begins using it as a toy. It was the simple things that fascinated babies that Burgess loved so much. It could be a bag or a box and Haven would be content.

"Take that bag from her," Erin directs, clearing out a bottom cabinet, "She could smother herself." Yeah, maybe it was best that Kim didn't have kids. She thought it was cute. She honestly didn't see the danger in it until Erin mentioned that plausible possibility.

Kim had to be the bad guy. She removed the plastic bag from the baby's tight grip and when Haven met her eyes, she whined. She wanted it back but Kim refused, setting it onto the counter and out of her line of sight and accessibility. Lindsay takes out a pot and a wooden spoon, placing it onto the floor to distract the baby, "Haven," the infant looks over, "look," Erin taps the spoon on top of the pan and with the plastic bag out of sight and out of her mind, Haven crawls over. Erin hands her the spoon and resumes making cabinet space for the rest of the food, "You just have to keep them occupied and busy."

With her little legs spread open, her hand gripped around the handle of the wooden spoon and the pot pushed between her legs by Kim, she starts wildly and excitedly hitting it. Erin and Kim put the remainder of the groceries up, singing along to the music coming out of Kim's iPod and struggling to ignore the sounds of banging. It was pretty easy because it kept the baby entertained. At least she wasn't crawling around and potentially putting herself in harm's way by finding any and everything on the floor to stick in her mouth. Once the groceries are away, Kim approaches the child, "I refuse to take it from her. I don't want to be the bad guy."

"Fortunately for you, I don't mind," Erin scoops the spoon and pot up and sets it onto the counter to rinse off, dry and put it away later. And just as Kim assumed, Haven started crying but it didn't matter that her mother took it from her, she still wanted to be in her arms.

Erin lifted her with such ease and carried her into the living room. It was their hang out spot. Besides her nursery, this room held the rest of her toys. They were organized in the corner but Haven knew where to crawl if she wanted something. Lindsay sits down on the floor, legs spread open and the baby sitting in front of her. Preparing her hands, she starts a game of pat-a-cake; it was Haven's favorite. Even though she didn't have the hand movements completely, she still giggled every time the end came and she excitedly anticipated the moment they started again. She laughs even harder the second time and when she impatiently waits for the third, her mother's phone rings, "Kim, you mind filling in?"

"Not at all," Burgess crawls onto the floor and turns the baby around to face her, "Alright kid, I'm not your mama but I'm an exceptional substitute. Let's do this." Haven didn't seem to mind as long as the game continued to play. Her hands flew in various directions trying to keep up with Kim's palms but she loved every second of it.

As Erin disappears into the kitchen, the sound of her daughter's laughter fades away. It's covered by the low music playing, her ringing cell and the fact that she's a further distance away. She grabs her purse and she's forced to search around the crowdedness inside of it. Erin doesn't get to it in time. It goes to voicemail. By the time she does find her phone, she notices the three missed calls from Jay. The second she was about to call him back, he calls once again. She answers without a second to pass, "Hello"

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Traces of irritation are in his voice.

"Chill" she asserts, walking over to the fridge to grab herself a water bottle, "What's up?"

"I'm on the side of the road. I need a jumpstart," he's outside pacing on the side of the street, "I need you to bring the jumper cables from the basement. I bought a new set and forgot to put it in my trunk. I need you to come give me a jumpstart. I'll text you my location."

After hanging up, she pops back into the living room, noticing just how engrossed into pat-a-cake both Haven and Kim had become. It seems Kim was enjoying the game just as much as the baby. She pulls her purse onto her shoulder and digs around it in search of her keys, "Burgess, that husband of mine needs a jumpstart. I should be back," Erin starts to walk over, preparing to lift the baby but Kim stops her.

"I can watch her."

"Are you sure?"

"She'll slow you down," Kim responds, resuming their game of pat-a-cake.

"Are you positive? Haven has been in a mood lately."

Kim brushes it off, "It's nothing I can't handle. I'll just keep her busy."

"This is different than the previous times you watched her."

"I'll be fine Erin. She's in a much better mood since her nap. Take your time. I have everything under control."

Erin considers it –she watches the game continue and weighs the pros and cons of leaving. The only thing that quickens her thought process is her phone ringing. Jay is calling again, probably rushing her. She runs out of the living room, makes a stop in the basement to grab the jumper cables and leaves out. Normally she would have said bye to the baby but she didn't want Haven to know she was leaving. She wanted Burgess to have another good babysitting experience with her nine month old. As she drove, she could only cross her fingers and hope that Haven didn't get fussy.

By the time Erin pulls up to his location, she parks in front of him and steps out. She had managed to use the shoulder of the road to turn her car around so her engine was near his. He appears to be irritated. His appearance was currently matching his tone of voice. Cars were speeding pass on the highway. On the phone, she had found out that he had initially pulled over because he thought his car was overheating. When he checked under the hood, everything appeared fine. He had gotten back inside his car and attempted to start it when he realized his engine had died. Erin steps out of her car and reaches into the backseat to grab the jumper cable.

When she shut the door, he walked over and took the jumper cables from her without uttering a word. Crossing her arms over her chest, she annoyingly questioned, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I called you like fifteen times."

"Don't be dramatic; you called me like three or four times."

"I still called you more than once," Jay retorted, checking to make sure both cars were in park and the engines were shut off.

"Well, I'm sorry if I had to put groceries away and watch your kid."

"I've been waiting on the side of the road for almost an hour."

"I'm sorry for that! How was I supposed to know you were going to need a jumpstart?"

Jay pops the hood of his wife's car, "Oh give me a break!"

"No, how about you give me a break? I don't know where the fuck this attitude is coming from but Jay you really need to check your emotions at the door!"

He looked at her, rolling his eyes in exasperation, "Watch yourself Erin."

"No, you watch yourself! If you don't like what I'm saying to you, then stop saying things that make me feel like I need to say something in the first place!"

"You're right. Just forget it."

"What happened to you? You're in a pissy mood."

"Just forget about it."

"I'm not going to forget about it," she argued.

Jay doesn't respond. He's silently focusing on the two engines beside him. Clipping one of the red clips to the positive terminal of his car's battery before attaching the other red clip to the positive terminal of her car, he isn't trying to be safe; he's trying to hurry the process along so he can get out of there. His wife walks over before he can do the black clips, "Be careful Jay."

He attaches the black clips to the negative terminal of her car's battery, "I don't need you telling me what to do."

"What happened at the DMV?"

He attaches the last black clip to a metal part of his engine that isn't near the battery, "Nothing happened Erin," he tries to appear calm but she doesn't buy it.

Lindsay grabs his wrist and pulls him over to the side of the car, flushing his back against his passenger side door before cupping his face, forcing him to focus his eyes on her, "What happened at the DMV?"

"Tyler happened."

"Tyler's dead," she reminded, dropping her hands from his face.

"Yeah, but what he did still lingers," he declared, taking a hold of her car keys, "The news still talks about it like it happened yesterday. And people gossip and create conspiracies."

"Conspiracies? Conspiracies about what?"

"Tyler's death," he retorts, sliding into her driver's seat to start the engine.

"That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, that's what I told the guy behind me in line. Let's just say he wouldn't back down."

"There's no reason for you to get upset."

Jay looks up at her from the front seat of her car, "No reason? This guy in line was practically telling people that Tyler was killed because we didn't build a good enough case to win in court! He called Tyler's death an execution done by an incompetent detective!"

"Who cares what he thinks?" she argued, following after him as he goes to start his car, "There are conspiracies about everything: aliens, 9/11, everything Jay!" His car successfully starts.

"Why are you upset with me? I defended you!"

"And I appreciate that. I love you for that. I love you so much for it."

"But?" He shuts off the engine of his car.

"There's no point trying to change his mind!" Erin avowed, following him back to her car to shut off her engine, "His opinion doesn't matter. We know the truth. The families of the victims know the truth. People with sense know the truth. Screw him and his opinion."

Jay looks up at her, steps out of her car and presses his lips against hers. He loves how angry and passionate she can get. She stumbles back until she's at his car; her back flushing against the passenger door. His lips move slowly against hers and he only pulls away to speak, "I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you."

"I forgive you. Now since your car can run we can relieve Burgess of her babysitting duties."

His hands don't leave her hips; if anything, they grip tighter and he flushes his body against hers, pressing her back further against the car. Jay leans forward and gently presses his lips against hers. That unsatisfied feeling he was left with this morning needed to be satisfied. The fire and the anger in his orbs need to be extinguished. His hands roam her body, massaging her butt gently and carefully, being mindful of the ache he knows is still present. She moans into his mouth, digging her nails into his back as his hands come forward, hurriedly and impatiently unbuttoning her plaid shirt. And before he's able to unbutton the last button, she stops him, "I am not about to have sex with you on the side of a highway."

"It'll be fun," he whispers, pressing his lips against the crook of her neck.

"Yeah, unless we get arrested," her hands run down his chest.

"No one can see us; we're on the side of my car," he murmurs against the skin of her neck, "Come on Erin, we didn't get to finish what we started this morning."

"I wonder why…"

He smirked, drawing his head away, "I said I was sorry."

"I'm just joking with you."

Jay unhooks the last button on her plaid shirt, bringing his lips back to her neck and eliciting a passionate moan. Her moan is soft; it's wanting. She wants this just as much as he does. His lips trailed down her neck, beard rubbing and scratching against her flesh, "Back seat," he hears her whisper, fingers tangling in his hair.

"My car or yours."

"…the closer one."

He looks up at her and grins, "My car it is."

Burgess lies in front of the baby; toys scattered around her as she attempted to entertain the baby with each one. None of them were working. Kim had called Erin twice and received no answer. She was growing antsy with each passing second as the baby started crying louder. Kim would shake a toy, sing a lullaby, rock her and initiate pat-a-cake but nothing was working. Every toy given to her, she bangs it, drops it or throws it. Kim rose to her feet when Haven threw her stuffed donkey as far as her little arm could pitch, "Where are your parents?"

Haven continues to scream, rolling onto her hands and knees as she followed after Burgess. Kim headed towards the kitchen; she was getting hungry and needed to start lunch. She needed a break from the baby anyway. She had read or heard from someone that if a baby keeps crying and there's nothing wrong with them then you should walk away, especially if you're growing angry and frustrated. Kim grabs a frozen pizza out of the freezer; it'll be enough for all three of them. Kim preheats the oven as she hears Haven grow close, crying even louder as she craves for attention. Burgess didn't know what to do after slamming the oven door shut, setting the timer on for the pizza to cook. Haven was crawling after her, wanting the attention but the second Burgess gave it to her, she rejected it.

Kim decided to try once again when the baby crawled up to her feet, sat on her bended knees and held her tiny arms up. She needed the comfort of a woman. Her mother wasn't here and Burgess was the second option. Kim scooped her up and Haven managed to simmer down her cries, turning the wails into whines. Burgess will take it. It was better than all of the crying she was doing earlier. Holding the baby on her hip, she grabbed a bag of chips to keep the growl off her stomach until lunch was finished. Kim carries the whining baby into the living room, flopping down onto the couch and grabbing the remote. Lying out on the sofa, the baby sits on her stomach, feet pressed together and hands holding them, her whines finally stop when Kim puts on her favorite cartoon. The animated characters sang and danced around, earning a small smile and one clap of the hands from the baby.

Burgess doesn't want to disturb her; she holds the baby's arm and carefully reaches onto the floor to grab the strap of her diaper bag. After pulling it close, her hand fumbles around inside until she feels Haven's bottle. It wasn't surprising that she didn't want it. It wasn't even surprising when Kim handed it to her and she purposely dropped it to the ground. She was focused on the television show; she wanted no interruptions, but when Kim heard a slight grunt, a sigh of relief, followed by the smell of something foul, she knew why Haven didn't want the bottle. Kim springs forward, lifting the baby and holding her up and as far away from her as possible, "How can something so small emit such a horrible smell?" Kim gags.

Haven is amused by Kim's facial expression; she absolutely loves it and laughs to prove it. Kim is too busy trying to remind herself not to breathe to notice. She's running up the stairs, laying her down on the changing table and opening the diaper when she gags again, "Seriously kid," she shivers, removing the diaper and tossing it into the trashcan, "how is all of this physically able to come out of your body? What did you eat?" Haven is babbling. Kim's words go through one ear and out of the other as she squeals and coos in delight. It makes the diaper changing process easy. She wipes her, applies diaper cream and then seals on a fresh diaper. Kim was fine when it came to diapers full of urine, but she couldn't do poop. She couldn't do it at all. This was the last stinky diaper she will ever change; she can't physically go through that again. She could only hold her breath for so long before she was forced to inhale.

As she buttons the bottom of the onesie, she hears the sound of the kitchen timer signaling the pizza is finished –about time. She was starving. Scooping the baby up in her arms, the finicky kid started to grow whiny again. Haven made eye contact with her. And Kim had seen the whole process as if it was happening in slow motion. She watched Haven's bottom lip tremble, her nose sniffle, her mouth pout and her sad expression before a loud wail erupts. Kim had absolutely no idea what to do. All she knew was she couldn't do this. With the baby on her hip, she rushes to the kitchen, shuts off the timer and turns off the oven. Once she pulls the oven door open, she hears the front door and the laughter of her friends. They enter the kitchen just as Kim grabs an oven mitt and she hesitates to grab the pizza when she takes in her best friend's appearance, "You left me with your kid to have sex."

Jay crosses the room to lift his crying infant from her arms as his wife responds, "Technically, I left you with her to help him jumpstart his car."

"You have sex hair."

Erin shrugs, "Things escalated."

"I miss my fiancé."

"So I can assume you're returning home tonight?"

Kim removes the pizza from the oven and sets it on the stove, "If all goes well…" she sighs.

"Something smells good; we're starving," Erin walks closer.

"I made one of those frozen pizzas. It needs to cool off."

Erin shrugged off Kim's idea of letting the pizza cool off. She was too hungry to do such a thing and she recently worked up an appetite. She pulled the pizza cutter from the nearest drawer and began rolling it over the hot pie. Burgess stands close by, holding a plate and anticipating her own slice, "Did you tell Jay about how Haven acted in the grocery store?"

Lindsay smirked, "We were a little occupied."

"What happened in the grocery store?" Jay asked, taking a seat with his daughter rested quietly in his arms. She's content; she's no longer whining or wailing.

"At least she waited until we were in line," Erin defended, setting a slice onto Kim's plate.

He repeated, "What happened?"

"Your kid threw a temper tantrum and she's not even in her terrible twos yet."

Lindsay scowled at Kim as she walked over to the table to eat her slice. Erin held two plates, one for herself and one for Jay, carrying them over to the table and taking her usual seat. She sees Jay's eyes on her, patiently waiting to hear what happened. Erin shrugged it off as if it was no big deal, "She did something that all babies do –cry. I don't see the big deal."

"The big deal is she was so freaking loud. It was embarrassing."

Erin shrugged it off again, "Like I said, she did something all babies do." It was obvious she was growing defensive. The maternal instinct to protect her daughter only increased as she watched her lay silently against her husband's chest.

"Oh wait," Burgess exclaimed, bouncing up and down in her seat, "your wife saved my ass today! This guy was flirting with me while I was grabbing the spinach and he could not take a hint. I was giving him all sorts of nonverbal hints but he overlooked every single one. And then," she looked over to Erin, proudly smiling as she bit into her slice, "here comes your wife, slipping her hand into mine, thinking quick and pretending to be my wife."

"And it worked?"

Kim excitedly nods, "It worked!"

As the chuckles filled the table, Jay spotted a speck of tomato sauce on his wife's chin. She seemed to be oblivious to it. Jay's laughter seems to simmer down enough for him to reach over and brush the spot of tomato sauce off her chin. Intense eye contact was shared between the two; her eyes gazing into his as he clears her chin of the mess. She smiles; those loveable dimples of hers piercing through and the moment is interrupted when Burgess sighs, "I miss when Ruzek used to be romantic. He's stopped doing all of that cute stuff."

"That's because he got the girl," Jay informed resting his chin gently on top of the baby's head.

"He should still try to woo me every once in a while."

Erin's brows crease in confusion, "You think Jay wiping tomato sauce off my chin is wooing me?"

"Kind of…"

"What kind of ways did Adam ever woo you?"

Kim's eyes glaze over as she thinks of the memories, "He used to run his hand through my hair. He would take his thumb and trace my bottom lip; it was the best thing ever. He used to offer me his coat when we're out; he stopped doing that. Now he'll just say I told you to bring yours."

"…maybe you should tell him this."

"He's hard to talk to; you're not."

"No one's a mind reader. He won't know unless you tell him."

Erin feels like her advice is going through one ear and out of the other. It's starting to get repetitive. There are only so many times she's going to offer the same advice before she says forget it and tells Ruzek the problem herself. Kim is catching on; she knows that she should tell Adam but since he's not here, she had a little longer to stall. To do this, Burgess hops to her feet and begins stacking their dirty plates up only for Erin to reach out her hand to stop her, "You're a guest. You've cooked for us every day you've been here. I can clean up."

"I cooked as a way to say thank you for letting me stay."

"You're welcomed here any time. You don't have to earn your keeps."

Kim shakes her head, snatching the plate from Erin's hand, "I also want to thank you for letting me watch Haven for an hour."

"Of all the reasons to thank me for, I never thought watching my kid would be one of them," Erin wonders, eyes averting to Haven as she stirs awake, "When we walked in, it looked like you were ready to pull your hair out."

"Watching her helped me realize that maybe I don't want kids."

Erin sits up straight, "Burgess, are you sure? How could you change your mind that fast? You've been talking about wanting kids since I got pregnant."

"That's because I'm always around babies when they're cute and quiet and playful and quiet and adorable and quiet… and did I mention quiet? This little phase I can do without. I don't know how you guys do it." She sets the dishes in the sink.

"Patience," Jay answers for her, "…a lot of patience."

"I can do the feeding, the playing and the protecting, but I don't think I can do the changing diapers, the crying and the screaming."

"Most people who are affected by baby fever forget it's not always sunshine and daisies. It's hard raising a kid," Erin rises from her seat.

Kim turns on the water and grabs the dish soap, "I can see. I'll stick to being the cool aunt who spoils her with love, toys and lots of attention."

Erin's chuckles could be heard as she climbs the stairs, fading away as the distance increases. As she ventures upstairs, walking into her bedroom, she starts to heart the soft whining of her daughter, stirring in her husband's arms. She's sniffing and looking around. She's fine when Erin is near but the second Haven notices she's out of her line of vision, she starts to panic and worry.

Jay raises the baby above his head in an effort to cheer her up. He brings her down and presses a kiss to her lips before raising her back up, "Mama will be back," he assured, repeating the earlier action of lowering her down for a kiss just to raise her back up again, "Erin!" He's rushing her; she's well aware that the baby wants her, but Haven can't always have what she wants.

Halstead sets his daughter on his lap, standing her onto her feet. He watches her little mouth open and close with each wail she emits. Jay pouts to mimic the expression on her face. And she doesn't find it funny; she only bounces on her unstable feet and cries louder. His expression softens, "Give daddy a kiss."

Even through tears and loud wails, she manages to pucker her lips, allowing him to lean in and peck her. The act of love does calm her. A grin stretches across his face when she leans in again, planting an open-mouth kiss against his chin. Jay pulls her away, feeling her drool drip down his jaw, "Thank you Havie," he sarcastically stated.

Jay doesn't even notice when Erin returned to the kitchen. Haven had been swiftly collected from his arms and the baby on his lap was quickly replaced by his wife. She's comfortably sitting on his lap with the baby now on hers, "Were you causing a scene little girl?" The baby perks up, reaching to grab for her mother's hair and attempts to put the strands in her mouth. It seems that's something all babies love to do –grab things and immediately put them in their mouths. Her grip around Erin's brunette hair was tight and forceful; she gave it a yank before Erin naturally scowled, "Ouch! Haven, give it back, thank you," she eases her hair from her daughter's closed fist, "Why don't you ever pull on your own hair?"

"She only has a little over an inch of hair," Jay laughs, reaching around his wife's waist to run his hand through the few strands sitting atop his daughter's head. He only draws his hand away –instinctively- when he sees a flash of light in his peripheral, "What the hell was that?"

"Sorry," Burgess pocketed her cell phone, "I didn't know my flash was on but I couldn't pass up this adorable family moment."

Lindsay simply chuckles, knowing sooner or later Burgess will either send her the photo or print it out and frame it. She was looking forward to seeing it; she could never have too many photos. Her attention suddenly averted away from Kim and towards the baby as she starts bouncing in her lap, "Now you're in a good mood," Erin chuckles, lifting her up and setting her down on her feet, wrapping her hands around Haven's hands to ensure her daughter wouldn't topple over, "Look at you boo, look at you go," her laughter increases as Haven looks up at her, wide eyed and open mouthed as she bounces faster. Keeping her seated position on Jay's lap, she's bent over, struggling to ignore the growing ache in her rear as she holds the baby in an upright position, "I'm going to let go," she says to no one in particular.

No one responded either. Everyone simply watched as Erin released Haven's hands, only to see the nine month old baby stand for a few seconds and start to tumble over in the next. Erin grabs her before she completely falls and instead of giving up, she holds her up again. Lindsay glances over her husband's shoulder, watching the interest peak in his eyes, "She'll definitely be walking soon," he says, watching as his wife releases the baby's hands once again. Haven manages to stand for a few seconds longer, only until a knock at the front door startles her and causes for her already unbalanced body to topple over. Erin was ready just like last time. She grabs her hips and slowly lowers her to the ground, rolling herself into a crawling position to follow after Burgess as she goes to retrieve the door.

Lindsay cozies her back against her husband's chest, "Baby following you Kim."

Burgess comes to a stop, leaning over only to pick up the nosey baby before continuing towards the front door. Haven was alert. She fully knows that when there is a knock at the door that means that someone is out there. Her head was held high as she sat against Kim's hip, waiting and watching until the door is finally opened. A man, a few years older than them, was standing outside and once the front door opened, a Cheshire grin stretched across his face, "Hi. Can I help you with something?" Kim has never seen him before.

"Are you Erin Lindsay?"

She doesn't answer him; she keeps her eyes trained on him as she shouts, "Erin, it's for you."

It doesn't take long for her to walk to the door, Jay trailing curiously behind her. Lindsay has a bright smile on her face; she has no idea who he is either. Haven stares; it makes the man feel a bit uncomfortable but most children stare at strangers so he simply shrugs it off. When Erin approaches the door, he tips his hat as she uneasily leans against the threshold, "I'm Erin."

"You're a hard person to find detective."

Jay steps forward, "Do you two know each other?"

"Have we met?" Erin looks at the man for answers.

"We haven't. I'm Michael Perry," he eagerly extends his hand, "but you Ms. Lindsay can call me Mikey." Jay's brow rises.

She cautiously shakes his hand, "I think I'll stick to Michael."

"May I come in?"

"What is this in reference to?"

"How would you like to become a millionaire?"

Jay looks between his wife and the stranger, "What is this?"

"May I?" he gestures towards the inside of their house.

An answer isn't provided right away. With Erin's arms wrapped around her lower waist, she looks over at her husband and best friend, reading their expressions. They were just as curious as she was about this. Glancing down at Haven, her bright, innocent hazel eyes gaze into her mother's orbs, causing Erin's heart to flutter as it always seems to do when in her baby's presence. She's in Kim's arms. She didn't know the man, but he wanted to enter a house occupying three detectives. He wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything…and he seems harmless. Erin sets her hand upon her best friend's shoulder and gives her a nod, stepping out of the way as Burgess opens the front door wider. He enters and follows Lindsay towards the living room. Jay and Burgess trail closely behind him.

Burgess shuts off the television and her iPod, creating a quiet atmosphere for whatever this man wanted. Before taking a seat, Michael reaches into his pocket and hands Lindsay his business card. Erin takes it without any hesitation and she reads it just as fast. Jay is behind her, struggling to read the small font from over her shoulder, "What does it say?" He gives up on trying.

"Flynn and Perry publishing company," she answers.

Michael cheerfully raises his hand, "I'm the Perry half."

"This must be serious since one of the co-owners has come to see me."

"What is this about?" Jay steps forward, arms across his chest as he waits to hear just exactly what this man wants. He wouldn't have come here if he didn't want something from her.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Jay Halstead, her husband," he answers, extending his hand.

Michael shakes it, "Oh, well then I guess you want to hear my pitch too," he clears his throat, "I'm here to offer your wife the chance of a lifetime; a one in a million chance of a lifetime. A book deal; half a million upfront, we write the book, you'll get another half a million, we go on tour and your family profits from the sales."

"A book deal," Erin repeats.

"And if it's as successful as I think it will be, then a movie might come out of it."

Jay steps away, shaking his head, "Wait. Wait. Hold on. You're offering my wife a book deal?"

"Yes."

"About?"

"Detective Tyler West."

"It's just Tyler;" Kim chimes in, bouncing the baby in her arms as she paces circles around the living room, "he doesn't deserve to bear the title of detective."

Erin bites down against her lip, struggling to wrap her brain around why he would come to her for a book about Tyler; it didn't make sense, "I don't know much about Tyler's life…only from the point of where we met."

"And that's all we need to know. We want it to be about your ordeal, about your time with him and knowing him. We want to know about the investigation, how he managed to trick law enforcement for so long and about the time he attacked you. It'll be juicy! I can see it already," Michael is practically bouncing in his seat as he envisions this possible book deal, "We'll add the story of how he escaped and then you killing him. It'll sell. Trust me."

"Wait. What?" Erin whispers; she's so confused.

"No deal," Jay cuts in, answering for her.

"Detective, I don't want to come across rude but this isn't your decision to make."

Jay looks to his wife, "Erin!"

She looks up to meet his gaze; her own face is expressionless and her voice is slightly above a whisper, "I don't want to profit off of what he did to me! I don't want to profit off of what he did to his victims."

"Don't look at it as profiting off of death and harm. Look at it as a light at the end of a dark and long tunnel. You deserve this! The public deserves this!"

"I'm sorry but we don't have a deal."

Michael jumps to his feet, eager to change her mind, "A million dollars Erin and that's just from us; think of what you'll make when the books leave the shelves and producers contact you to turn your story into a film."

"No."

"Erin-"

"People died Michael! I almost died! My husband almost died! My best friend almost died! My baby right there," she points at Haven resting in Kim's arms, "she almost died! I'm not going to glorify him and spread his name to make him famous! I won't do that! I won't turn him into some sensationalized martyr! I want his name to die with him!"

He glances down at his business card resting between two of her fingers, "This is big. I'll let you think on that. How about I leave you my card just in case you change your mind?"

"She won't," Jay steps forward, resting his hand on his wife's lower back, "I know you're looking for a story but you won't find it here."

"I'll still leave you my card."

The baby remains on Kim's hip as she walks Michael to the door. He is no longer as chipper and upbeat as he once was, but Burgess didn't mind. He was only looking for a quick buck. He wanted to profit off of their ordeals. Erin remains in the living room, staring down at the business card in her hand, "You don't think I should do it?"

Jay takes the card from her, "No," he rips it.

"What about those people you were concerned with? The ones with conspiracies; don't you think they should hear the truth?"

"You convinced me their opinions didn't matter."

Erin nods, glancing down at the ripped card in his hand, "Make sure you throw that in the trash."

Jay smiles; he leans forward and presses a kiss to her forehead before disappearing to toss the garbage in the trash. Erin remains, questioning her own decision. She felt it was right, but what about those sympathizers who question the veracity on Tyler's death. What about the family members who want people to know how bad Tyler was? What about those people who think she was too rash and trigger happy when she confronted him? What about the loved ones of the victims that may want the world to know what happened to their family members and friends? This wasn't only her decision but Michael wanted it to be. She snaps out of her thoughts when she feels a hand rest upon her shoulder –it belongs to Burgess, "I'm proud of you," she wraps her arms around her friend, bringing the three of them –Kim, Erin and Haven- into a hug.

When the hug ends, Haven continues to lean in. Erin gets the hint; she wants to go back into her mother's arms. And Erin needed that right now. Any time she is reminded of Tyler, she needed the comfort only her baby could provide. Lindsay brushed a kiss to the temple of her daughter's head, "We should start getting ready," she suggested the second Jay returns from the kitchen.

Without further discussion of Michael's proposal, she carries the baby upstairs. Usually around this time, Haven would be down for her next nap, but Erin wanted her to stay awake as long as possible. She wanted the baby to nap when she's about to leave to make the whole process easier. And it'll be so much easier for Annie if the baby slept through most of the time Erin will be gone. The only person –besides Jay, the baby can be left with without her wailing her lungs out is Emily. She can be with Burgess and Voight for a short amount of time, but other than those select few, Haven isn't having it. She's not calming down for anyone when her parents leave.

Burgess heads into the guest bedroom to start getting ready as Erin carries the baby into her and Jay's room. Halstead walks in just as Lindsay sits the baby in the center of their bed, he hands the nine month old baby her stuffed donkey before heading over to their closet. The stuffed donkey sits on her lap and she gnaws upon its ear, her eyes averting back and forth across the room as she watches her parents move around to get ready. Occasionally, as they pass one another, their fingers would linger. Hers may slide across his arm; his may caress against her lower back. It's all passing touches that means the most to them. His hands grip her hips as she rises to the tip of her toes to grab the hanger holding up her teal dress. She smiles when he flushes his chest against her back, "Not that I'm complaining, but what has gotten into you?"

"Can't a man love his wife," he whispers, peppering the softest kisses against the crook of her neck.

She turns around in his arms, "We don't have time."

"We can make time."

The baby squeals as she bangs her stuffed donkey against the mattress of the bed. Both parents had rotated their focus from getting ready to glancing at her in order to ensure she didn't crawl over to the edge of the bed. Lindsay grins, patting her husband's chest to push him away, "We don't have time," she repeated, "or the opportunity," she carries her dress over to the bed, "Havie, I need your opinion," Erin holds the dress up to her body, "What do you think?"

Haven could have been squealing and clapping her hands for several reasons, but Erin and Jay interpret her excitement for themselves. Jay removes his slacks from the closet, "I think she wants you to wear it."

Erin lies the dress down onto the bed, "I think you're right."

As the baby distractedly plays with her donkey, falling onto her back and rolling over onto her side, Erin gets dressed. She strips herself out of her clothes, purposely ignoring the wandering glances of her husband as he buttons up his dark, green dress shirt. He tucks his shirt into his buckled slacks just as the doorbell rings. She's standing in her bra and undies, stepping into the dress and pulling the zipper up on the side, "Are you going to get that Jay?"

He dabs cologne against the underside of his jaw, "You want to surprise me in that dress?"

"No," she laughs, adjusting the fabric and pushing up her boobs, "you're ready, I'm not," she reminds, as he steps into his dress shoes. The doorbell rings again and he grabs his watch off the dresser as he goes to get it. Jay straps the watch around his left wrist just as he arrives at the front door, unlocking it and pulling it open, he's greeted with the smiling faces of Adam and Annie.

"I hope I'm not late," Annie exclaimed, unbuttoning her jacket.

"No, perfect timing actually," he closes the door behind them.

"Wow," she nudges his shoulder playfully, "you smell really good."

"Don't sound so surprised."

"Hey guys," Erin greets, approaching her friends with her high heels in one hand and the baby on her hip. She watches a bright grin stretch across Haven's face the second she spots Ruzek. It's amazing; Erin remembers how months ago Haven could barely be in Adam's arms without crying and now, it seems the little girl has gotten a little crush. She's so bashful and cute when she sees him. She gives him a dimpled grin just as Erin hands her over to Jay, "I just need to do my hair and then I'll be ready," she sets her heels down and carefully steps into them.

Lindsay disappears back upstairs and the baby is content for the moment, giggling as Ruzek sports a variety of different, goofy facial expressions for her. He bends forward to be eye leveled with her and squeezes her chubby thigh, "Jay, do you know where we're going?" Haven grins and stretches her hand out to touch his face; her fingers scratch upon his stubble and she laughs louder when he makes a silly face.

"It's a place for dancing," Jay shrugs, "it's nice; it's fancier than a club."

Burgess in a strapless, purple dress and Lindsay in her teal, off the shoulder cut dress reappear. Their hair is falling in loose curls, curtaining and warming their shoulders. Both dressed beautifully and sophisticatedly with light makeup added to their faces. Jay takes in his wife's appearance, "You look fucking amazing," he gasps.

She nudges his side, "You don't look too bad yourself."

"The quicker we leave, the sooner we'll get back."

It's time to leave. However, before they do, Burgess approaches the baby, sliding her from Jay's arms when she realizes that tonight, she'll most likely be returning to her own home, "Bye baby girl." Haven grins, hands resting on Kim's cheeks and leaning in to give her an open mouthed kiss. It seems to become her natural thing. Kisses are only reserved for a select few though –Kim included. When Burgess withdraws her head, pulling away from the slob only to feel her earring ripped out of her ear, gripped firmly in the baby's fist, "Damn it!"

"Kim!" Jay scolded.

"Sorry," she slipped the earring from the baby's hand, "that hurt. And these earrings are expensive. Here," she leans the baby in the direction of her mother and Erin slips her back into her arms. For a few short moments, Lindsay bounces her baby in her arms before handing the child to Annie. And that's when the tears started. It was quick, like hitting a light switch.

Once she was out of the arms of a familiar face, she started crying. She looked at Annie –a somewhat recognizable face- but she didn't know her well enough. She turns in the woman's arms and reaches out in the direction of the people she did know. Erin had wanted Annie to start visiting regularly just to avoid this but Annie never came through. She had recently moved in with her boyfriend and they've been stuck in the honeymoon phase. Now that the honeymoon phase was coming to an end, Annie wanted to insert herself into the baby's life and inner circle but Haven wasn't having it. She simmered down some when Annie anxiously set her down on the floor, watching as she crawled towards her parents.

At around nine months, separation anxiety sets in. It's stronger for some babies more than others. It's a period of clinginess that the Halsteads tried to be prepared for but now that it came, it was all easier said than done. She can clearly distinguish between the faces of people she knows versus the people she doesn't know. When it's a familiar face, she can easily recognize it and when that familiar face tries to walk away or leaves, she cries. Just as she's doing right now, she's wailing and crawling towards both her parents. And Erin looks up at her husband, bright eyes sad as she sighs, "Come here my baby," she lifts the infant back into her arms.

Even though she was nine months old, she was a smart kid. She could tell when her parents were trying to leave. When Erin held her and started to walk back to Annie, she buried her face into the crook of her mother's neck, whimpering and sniffing in hopes that it'll change her mind. Erin doesn't move, she halts the second she hears the baby sniveling, "You'll have to approach her, just come slowly."

Jay disappears, running upstairs and reappearing moments later holding a pacifier and her stuffed donkey. He gives the baby her pacifier which immediately starts to soothe her. He reaches for her and slides her into his strong hold, cuddling her to his chest and bringing her stuffed animal in. She takes a hold of her donkey in one hand while leaning her head against her father's shoulder. It's a recipe for disaster for her, but to them, they know it'll end with her falling asleep. It's simply the waiting game. Jay begins walking around the kitchen, rubbing circles into her back as her eyes fight the urge to fall asleep. Fortunately she didn't get a nap in earlier at her usual time so the effort to put her down wasn't as hard. And once she falls asleep, they don't waste a second. Halstead hands her over to Annie, grabs their jackets and his wife's hand before nodding for everyone to follow him out of the door.

"I sent Emily a text," Erin asserts, walking alongside her husband and friends, "I told her if it wasn't too much to ask, would she mind dropping by to check in on Haven. She said she didn't mind; she's going to do it once her husband gets home from work."

Halstead nods with each word his wife says, grateful that their babysitter would go above and beyond for their daughter. It was a relief. Who knows what Haven would do if she woke up to see Annie with no recognizable face in sight. And the couple soon realizes that while they worried over their crying daughter, Ruzek and Burgess had been arguing. And now that they're outside, the sound of their bickering only increased. They're arguing over one another, they're face to face and they're refusing to hear the other out, simply pointing out each other's inadequacies and imperfections and overlooking their own.

"Guys," Jay whispers.

They continue to argue.

"Guys," Erin chimes in.

And their arguing increases.

"Hey," Jay tries once more.

That doesn't work either.

"GUYS," at the top of her lungs, she screams.

And it works; it silences them.

"I'm not riding in the same car as him," Burgess asserts, storming towards Erin's vehicle.

Ruzek shrugs, heading towards his own car, "That's okay. I don't want to ride with you either."

Jay and Erin share a look, roll their eyes and are forced to separate their hands as she goes towards Kim and he walks towards Ruzek. Erin gets into the car just as Ruzek pulls off, him and Halstead silently riding away as Erin follows behind. She's casually looking over at Kim, breaking the silence the second she realizes Kim won't, "What the hell was all that?"

"I tried to talk to him."

"…in the middle of my hallway? Outside of my house?"

"Okay it wasn't the ideal location."

"You should have waited until you were home alone."

"I couldn't; I couldn't pretend we were fine when we weren't."

"I get your point," Erin sighs, "but did bringing it up now solve the problem?"

And the silence in Ruzek's car is broken suddenly when he sighs for the eighth time.

"I'm assuming you want to talk about it?"

Ruzek nods, "I am so confused Halstead. I honestly don't know what I did. All she tells me is what's wrong with me or what I need to change so I started doing the same."

"You're fighting fire with fire, huh?"

"When you put it like that it makes it sound bad."

"I figured explaining to her how it makes you feel when she does it would be better. I just need to know how doing what you don't like to Burgess will solve the problem."

"So she knows how it feels…" he defended.

"I see your point," Jay shrugs, "but I don't see what you think it'll solve."

Finally, after pep talks and listening ears are offered, they arrive to the location at the relief of Jay and Erin. Even though they would never verbally say it, they were honestly over their friends' problems. They gave as much advice as they could offer but at this point, if nothing else works, couples therapy may be their best option. By the time they park, Jay is already at his wife's side, hand pressed against her lower back and leading her towards the entrance of the building. Guiding her through the entrance, he whispers, "Sure this was a good idea?"

"…the night isn't over."

"They're mad at each other," he retorts, following behind her closely; she stops and he accidentally bumps into her.

"She won't even be near him."

"Guys, I found a booth," Kim shouts over the music, waving her friends over. She sits her jacket in the seat and stands at the edge, waiting for her friends to slide in.

"I didn't come here to sit," Erin exclaims, tossing her jacket into the booth, "I came to dance," she turns to face her husband, eagerly reaching for his hand.

"I'm not dancing," Kim retorts.

With Erin facing her husband, she rolls her eyes, knowing her friend won't see, "We came here to dance," she sighs.

"And I'll dance, just not with him." She's stubborn. They all know it.

Lindsay came to dance. This was her time outside of her house, away from her kid and she was going to take full advantage of it. Even though she desperately wanted to dance with her husband, it was a sacrifice she was going to have to make. Couples are on the dance floor; it's not solo dancing hour. She stares at the dance floor, nudging Jay's side until he got the hint, and once he did he plastered a disappointed smile on his face and offered his hand to Kim, "Come on," it's less than ideal and far from sweet but she goes along with it and allows him to pull her onto the dance floor.

Ruzek taps Erin's shoulder, "Want to dance?"

"Only if you can keep up," she doesn't bother dragging him onto the dance floor. She's giddy and upbeat. She practically races in her high heels towards the crowded floor. Ruzek struggles to keep up, excusing himself through multiple couples before finding her and offering his hand.

As the instrumental melody filled their ears, bodies close enough to dance but separate enough to not be deemed inappropriate, they dance in silence. Erin allows Ruzek to lead; she kind of felt bad for him. He's such a kid and he has this innocence about him that reminds her of Justin; a bad boy type of innocence which seems to contradict itself. As the song changes, he draws her closer, his arm on her mid-back and his hand holding hers up at shoulder level, "I don't know what to do anymore," he admits.

Lindsay's left arm rests on his shoulder, "Stop being stubborn; go talk to her."

"I don't know what to say."

Jay twirls Burgess around and brings her back in; he looks bored and she can obviously see it on his face, "Can you at least pretend like you're having fun?"

"It's hard to do that when I'm not even dancing with my wife."

Kim sighs, "Go dance with her then."

"And what are you going to do? Sit on the sidelines."

"Yeah," she shrugs, allowing him to lead the dance, "I guess I'll order a drink or two."

"Erin won't allow it. Unless you dance with Ruzek, she'll send me right back to you."

The song comes to an end and Burgess draws away from him, "Go dance with Erin." It's a demand, an order that is not up for negotiation. He thanks her with his eyes as he excuses himself through the many couples dancing to the next song that plays.

Kim walks off the dance floor, studying the couples and waiting patiently for Ruzek to join her. Jay approaches his wife and best friend, smiling and laughing as he twirls her around and dips her. When he brings her up, Jay is at their side, "Mind if I cut in?"

Ruzek quirks a brow, "Do I really have a say in the matter?"

"Nah," Jay offers his hand to his wife, "not really."

Ruzek walks off the dance floor. Erin's words are circulating through his head as he searches for his fiancée. Jay draws his wife towards him. The two rock side to side, Erin smiling as the melody of the beat slows, "Did you scare Burgess off?"

"I think she felt bad because I couldn't dance with you."

"You guilt-tripped her?"

Jay pecks kisses to his wife's lips, "I did. And the outcome was worth it. I don't regret it at all."

"How can I be upset when you talk to me like that?" She whispers against his lips, slipping her arms around his neck. Erin rises to press a kiss against the side of his face, glancing up around the room to see two of her favorite people dancing. She feels his hands rest upon her hips and she takes charge to switch positions, circling their bodies so he stands where she once stood. Her arms remain around his neck and his on her hips, "Look over my shoulder."

Jay glanced over her left shoulder and his gaze settles on Ruzek and Burgess. Kim and Ruzek are slow dancing and talking quietly amongst themselves. He grins and buries his face into her loose curls; it smells like hairspray and her curling iron. His hands drift along her hips, onto her back before lowering and settling on her behind; he squeezes it, "Ouch," she flinches, "It's still sore." He passionately kisses her to effectively shut up her complaints; she slowly pulls away and he trails after her lips, "If I remember correctly, last month you were concerned thinking the vasectomy was going to hurt your sex drive."

"What was I thinking?"

"I have no idea."

"…maybe it's the fact that we don't have to be careful."

"We can do it anywhere and at any time," she whispers, weaving her fingers through his hair.

"Don't tempt me."

"They're occupied; no one would notice if we disappeared."

He presses his lips back against hers and moves them against hers as he replies, "Back alley."

She pulls away, "An alley Jay?"

"Meet you there."

Erin watches Jay walk away. She's left standing alone in the middle of the dance floor. She watches him disappear out of a side door with an illuminated exit sign above it. Erin continues to stand there; biting her lip and looking over to make sure Burgess and Ruzek were occupied before following behind her husband. Ruzek twirls his fiancée around before bringing her back into his arms, "We should talk."

"We should do couples' counseling."

He nods, "Definitely before we get married."

"I want this to work."

"I do too."

"We need a third party."

He twirls her around once again, "That's not our friends," he adds.

"And I'm sorry for speaking to you like that."

Ruzek smiles, knowing that Burgess hated to admit she was wrong, "How about we both make moves to progress our relationship and be respectful in how we tell each other what's wrong?"

"I like that," she rests her forehead against his, "And there's something else I like that will probably make you happy."

"And what is that?"

"I don't want to have kids anymore."

He draws his head away; his eyes take in her facial features, trying to determine if she was telling the truth. His hand leaves her waist and comes to rest upon her forehead, "Are you okay?"

"I'm not running a fever," she laughs, lowering his hand back to her hip, "I'm serious."

"You were adamant about a baby. When you realized you couldn't have one, you always had this longing in your eyes every time you see a kid. What changed your mind?"

"The question you should be asking is who changed my mind."

He dips her and brings her back up, "Who changed your mind?"

"Haven Camille Halstead," she named.

"The kid?"

"Yes, the kid."

"I babysat her today."

"You've babysat her before."

"That was months ago. That was when she was younger. Now she's clingy and whiny and she needs to be entertained regularly and she takes less naps and she's not just eating formula now, she's eating formula and baby food and when she goes to the bathroom in her diaper, it reeks Adam. And I'm fine when she's happy, cheerful and just cute and full of innocence and laughter, I love that little girl like she's my own but what I really love is that once I need a break, I can hand her back to her parents and leave."

"You see it from my perspective."

She chuckles, head falling to rest on his shoulder, "I love you."

"I love you too. And I missed you…a lot."

"How about we go home and you show me just how much you missed me?"

Kim steps out of his arms, sliding her palms down his forearms before grabbing his hands. She tugs him off the dance floor. He's upbeat, definitely in a better mood than when he arrived. He lifts her hand and pecks against each knuckle, "We should let our friends know we're leaving."

It was a great idea. The only problem was they didn't know where they disappeared. The Halsteads weren't at their booth. They weren't on the dance floor. They weren't in the bathrooms, in the hallway or even near the bar. Kim approaches her fiancé, "Did they leave without us?"

Ruzek scans the room once more; his eyes settling on the side door, "The alley is the one place we haven't checked."

"Why would they be in the alley?" Her question is answered the second they step outside. Her eyes go wide and her hands fly to cover them, "Oh my gosh!" In the alley, they stumble across their friends –slightly nude- Erin leaning against the wall, Jay flushed up against her, lips on hers and only separating when they hear their friend. Kim turns away from them, staring everywhere but at their bodies, "You two couldn't find some place a little more private!"

Erin stands embarrassed; her dress is hitched up, leg wrapped around her husband's waist as his pants surround his ankles. Lindsay pats Jay's chest, pushing him away as she hides behind the nearest dumpster to adjust her clothing. Jay remains, buckling his pants as he stares at the back of his friends' heads, "What are you doing out here?"

"We were looking for you," Ruzek answers.

"Why?"

"We wanted to let you know we're leaving."

Erin peeks her head over the dumpster, "What about your things?"

"I'll pick them up tomorrow."

Ruzek leads his fiancé back towards the side door, "Sorry we interrupted. You two can get back to what you were doing."

"You kind of killed the mood," Jay retorted, grabbing his wife's hand. She's clearly embarrassed; her face is flushed and if there was more lighting in the alley, you could see the red in her cheeks. Lindsay keeps her head low, maneuvering through her friends, only to feel Kim's hands flatten out the back of her teal dress, "Thanks."

"I just hope my sex life is as amazing as yours when I get married."

Erin smiles, eyes flashing over to her husband as he grabs their belongings, "You just have to do what you have to do to keep the spark alive."

"And I don't know if I've thanked you enough for letting me stay."

"You've thanked me enough," Erin assures, looping her arm through her friend's arm, "you know my house is always open for you. Just next time, how about you tell your fiancé what's bothering you before you walk away with a bag packed?"

"Got it."

"I see you two made up."

"We'll really make up once we get home."

Erin releases Kim's arm and gives her a knowing smile. She provides a wink that follows before watching her friend head off with Ruzek in the direction of his car. She's left standing with Jay until he guides her to their vehicle, tossing him her keys; she happily relaxes in the passenger seat as he drives. One of his hands steer the wheel while the other rests on his lap; she sees his fingers tapping against his thigh and she reaches over to intertwine her fingers with his, "Despite being caught in the worst predicament ever, going out was a success."

"I wouldn't call it the worst ever."

"Our friends caught you with your pants down and my dress hitched up."

"…better them than strangers."

"I would have preferred strangers."

The remainder of the car ride was silent; they're thinking of their friends and about how far they've come. Burgess and Ruzek absolutely deserve this. They deserve to be together, happy and healthy. Their best friends could only wish them the best. As the car is put in park, Erin hesitates before stepping out, "What state are we going to find our house in?"

"Emily dropped by, remember?"

"Oh that's right," Erin responded, eagerly stepping out of the car, "Let's head inside."

Knowing Emily, she knew her house had probably been left in the best state imaginable. It was probably neater than how it was left. Emily was a neat freak; she was a creative, perfectionist who had the biggest heart and the biggest love for children. And knowing who Emily was and how she is, Lindsay wasn't surprised as they walked inside to find the house clean, Annie on the couch asleep and Haven fast asleep in her playpen. Jay smiled at his wife; that was one of the best ideas she's ever had. He approaches the playpen to find Haven bathed and dressed in her pajamas; he lifts her up and carries her upstairs to her crib. Lindsay approaches the couch, stoops low to gently wake her friend, "Annie, we're home."

She peeled open her eyes, "That was fast."

"We've been gone for three hours," Erin whispers, taking a seat next to her friend, "How was it? How did Haven treat you tonight?"

"Your child is demonic," Annie stretches out her arms.

And Erin shoves her, "Don't talk about my baby like that. What did she do?"

"The second she woke up, I went to pick her up and she started to scream. She literally did not stop crying until Emily came over," Annie informed, rising to her feet, "And how come you called her? You didn't trust me to watch your kid on my own? I raised a kid when I was practically a kid. I know how they can be; I could have handled it."

"I did you a favor."

"You called Emily over to check on me."

"I called her over to help you," Lindsay stands and glances around, "and by the looks of this place, she did way more than help you."

"She's amazing," Annie hated to admit, "She came over, told me to sit and she played with Haven as we got to know each other. She fed her, gave her a bath and then put her to sleep. Emily cleaned up afterwards and I fell asleep on the couch before she left."

"It looks like I should be paying Emily instead of you," Erin jokes, pulling the bills out of her bra to hand over to her friend.

"I earned this," Annie tucked the money into her own bra, "and I could have handled everything without Emily. I just needed to warm up. I haven't dealt with separation anxiety since my son was a baby and that was almost twenty years ago."

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again next time."

Annie grins, "So there's going to be a next time?" She cheers as Lindsay walks her to the door. Apparently the separation anxiety and the constant whining and crying didn't deter Annie completely which was good. For Burgess, it seemed to do the complete opposite. It convinced her not to have kids. I guess it was better to find out if you truly want kids before having them.

After waving her friend goodbye and locking the front door, Erin drags her feet upstairs, pulling a heel off her feet one by one. She sighs when her toes soak into the fluffy carpet. She hasn't worn heels in so long and she didn't mind that one bit. Erin drops her heels onto the floor just as Jay departs from the nursery, holding the baby monitor in one hand, "She woke up for like five seconds, gave me the cutest smile and then went back to sleep."

She doesn't say a word in response. She simply grabs him by the collar and pulls him into their bedroom, taking the baby monitor and dropping it to the carpet, just as she presses her lips against his. Lindsay brings her arms up and wraps them around his neck as her foot kicks the door shut, closing them off from the rest of the house as she had every intention of finishing what they started.


	10. Ten Months

The aisle of the airplane is short and small as they ease their way through the seats. Fortunately, they were able to board the plane sooner than others due to their ten month old daughter; it was one of the benefits of flying with a baby. Haven's head rested against her mother's shoulder, her little legs spread out around her mother's waist as she smiles at the couple standing behind them. Haven waves her little hand, smiling at the woman behind her mother, currently carrying a toddler. The woman waves back at Haven, waving along with her toddler as they continue down the aisle. Haven stares; she's at that age where she finds fascination and amusement in other kids, preferably older kids. And the toddler –around two years of age- was resting in her mother's arms, face cradled in the crook of her neck as she shyly turned away from Haven.

Erin is paying no attention to the seating; she's not searching for their row or their seats since her husband is slowly inching ahead of her, reading each numbered row in search of eight A and B. She only stops walking when Jay does, she sighs in content when he finds their row, Erin was ready to get comfortable and situated. Haven isn't a heavy baby; she's a lighter ten month old, weighing around eighteen pounds, but since she's been holding her for a little over an hour, her arms were starting to weaken. Jay is currently taking his time, placing their carry-on bag in the overhead compartment. He steps away, leaves it open for other people's bags to be added and allows for Erin to slide into the seat first, taking the closest one next to the window. The baby's diaper bag is slid beneath his seat before he steps in, comfortably sitting down and strapping himself in. The baby's tired; her cheek rests against her mother's shoulder and her gaze focuses on her reflection in the window. This was the family's first vacation since the baby was born; this was the family's first time flying since Haven joined the family. While Erin was nervous, Jay wasn't; he was relaxed in his seat, head comfortably resting against the headrest and eyes drifting open and shut. As the seats within the plane begin to fill up, the pilot's voice plays over the intercom informing them of their inevitable destination, –Wisconsin. It was going to be a short vacation –Friday to Monday- to celebrate Halloween and the autumn weather.

Burgess and Ruzek flew out a day before them in order to have a day alone in the cabin; now that it's Friday and they're all officially off from work, their short vacation can begin. It's an hour long flight and Erin planned for it to fall during Haven's naptime in hopes that she'll sleep through most of it. Jay felt himself dozing off, wanting desperately to fall asleep and wake up when the flight is over, but when he feels the hard nudge of his wife's elbow, "Huh?"

"I said could you pass me the baby's blanket; it's a little chilly in here."

Jay suppresses a yawn and reaches beneath his seat to fumble around the inside of her diaper bag. When the soft blanket is felt against his fingers, he gives it a pull and hands it over to his wife. She drapes it over the baby's back and continues to hold her snugly and protectively in her arms, "Go to sleep," she presses a gentle kiss against the side of her daughter's head. It's reassuring; it's comfortable enough for all three of them to fall asleep, only for her to be awakened thirty minutes into the flight by Haven stirring and rubbing her own eyes.

Erin had done her best effort to remain still, to pretend to still be asleep all in hopes of Haven drifting back off, but when she heard a slight murmur, a low fuss of the mouth; she knew that there was no chance of the little girl falling back to sleep, not when she's currently rubbing, gripping and messing with her ears. It's obvious something about them is bothering her; it doesn't take a rocket scientist to connect the dots –her ears are popping. She starts to fret and Jay disappears to walk to the restroom, leaving Erin strapped in her seat and attempting to distract her whiny baby from the pain shooting through her ears.

Haven's whines grow louder; she's more focused on comforting her little girl than the looks of obvious annoyance from the people around her. Erin cradled her daughter's head against her chest and rocked her body forwards and backwards, "…around twenty minutes left," she whispered in a soothing manner against her daughter's ear. The baby couldn't understand but it didn't stop her mother from talking to her, attempting to soothe her the best way she could.

The ten month old pulled her head away from her mother's bosom; her small fist rubbed against her little ear, her lobe turning red as Haven rubbed against them, her whines no longer low but has turned into a loud wail for help and comfort. Erin maneuvers the baby around on her lap, turning her small body to face the window, attempting to distract her with the view of the beautiful sky, "Look at the pretty clouds. Can you say clouds?" Haven continues to cry.

"Do you mind shutting your kid up?"

Erin had been caught off guard. She was utterly surprised by the rude and heartless response from the business man sitting directly in front of her. He had the nerve, the audacity to rise from his seat, turn around to complain about her baby expressing the pain shooting through her ears the only way she knew how. Erin swallowed hard, struggling to simmer down her rising anger and frustration to speak softly to the man in front of her, "She's in pain."

"I'm in pain from hearing that baby scream majority of my flight!"

"Her ears are popping! Have a heart!"

"I cannot go the rest of my flight listening to that!"

"Then shove your earphones in your ears and turn the volume up!"

"I shouldn't have to do that in order to have a peaceful flight!"

"Well, we both have to do things we're not particularly happy with!"

The business man rises from his seat and eases his way into the aisle, going into the overhead compartment to grab his briefcase, "This is ridiculous. I paid to have a peaceful flight."

"You paid to get from Illinois to Wisconsin. That's what you paid for."

"I didn't pay to hear that," he shoves his hand in the direction of the whining baby, "you're disturbing me and every passenger on this damn flight!"

"Actually," a woman spoke up from behind Erin, "the baby is fine. She isn't a bother, at least not to me. You're actually disturbing me more than her."

He ignores the woman's words and continues to spew complaints and grunts under his breath; he's rolling his eyes and sliding back into his seat, holding a pair of earplugs in his hands, "I have an important meeting to go to once I land and I need to review my notes for it and your kid is preventing me from doing that. The world, this flight isn't revolved around your brat."

"Who do you think you're calling a brat?" Erin unbuckles her seatbelt.

His eyes dragged from the baby, up to Lindsay, "Take a guess lady."

Erin turns in her seat and carefully sits the baby down. Haven's cries had stopped a few minutes ago, and now she sits in her seat, standing in front of her in the limited space to ensure she didn't lean forward and fall. Both adults standing, fuming angrily, earns curious and nervous glances from the passengers around the plane, especially when Erin crosses her arms over her chest, "My baby is ten months old. If she can't say what she wants to say, she'll cry. That's what they do. Babies are unpredictable. And all I wanted from you was patience. There's no need to be an asshole and name call like a petulant child."

"Who is name calling?"

Her shoulders relaxed by the sound of her husband's voice. He's standing in the aisle, looking back and forth between her and the business man; his eyes occasionally glance towards Haven who is distractedly pulling the socks off her feet –she hated wearing them. She is oblivious to the scene around her, completely unaware of what her whining had caused. Erin stood with her hands now on her hips as she turns to face her husband, "This _gentleman_ right here decided to express his frustration with Haven crying by causing a scene and calling her a brat."

Jay's brow rises, "I see you got earplugs," he nods towards what he sees in the man's hands, "how about you put them in your ears and shut the fuck up?"

The flight attendant finally appears, pointing out that the fasten seatbelt sign is back on because they'll be landing soon. The business man gives no more complaints; he does just as Jay ordered and shoves the earplugs into his ears. Erin retook her seat, buckled herself back in with the baby now on Jay's lap. She couldn't wait until they landed, especially since the plane started to descend, Haven's ears began bothering her again. She began to fret, whine and press her head against her father's chest. Her ears were bothering her because of the pressure change in the plane. She does as she did before; she reached for her ears, whined, flushed her face against her dad's chest and cried loudly. The man seated in front of them sighs, "Seriously…"

Neither of them responds to him. They're too preoccupied with comforting their obviously upset daughter. Jay hums a soothing tune and rocks her back and forth in his arms, it doesn't do much but it does manage to muffle her whines long enough for the plane to land and for everyone to climb out of their seats and enter the aisle. Jay and Erin are in no rush; they patiently remain seated until the last person is almost off the plane.

"I sent Burgess a text to let her know we landed," Erin followed her husband down the aisle; on her shoulder is the diaper bag, "they'll pick us up in the rental car."

During their walk towards baggage claim, the baby finds herself dozing off against her father's shoulder. That left the task of retrieving their luggage for Erin. She stood at the belt, glancing at her husband from over her shoulder as he walked around, rubbing his hand against her back and laying the occasional kiss against her cheek or the side of her forehead. It was a sweet scene. It was one that had many elderly women and single ladies swooning at the sight of her husband taking such delicate care of their little girl.

Eventually she's forced to look away when she notices their shared suitcase, the stroller and their daughter's car seat in the peripheral of her vision. She reached for each, received a little help from the person next to her, and managed to get their suitcase, the stroller and the car seat off the belt. She sent the gentleman to her right a smile of appreciation before raising the handle and wheeling the bag and the stroller over to her family, the car seat sits atop their suitcase. Haven was asleep; her head facing outward, mouth slightly ajar and the soft, innocent murmurs of her exhausted state convinced them that she should remain asleep for the entire ride to the cabin.

"They're outside," Erin hands him the folded stroller, "Ruzek wants us to hurry up. Technically, they're not allowed to park and he needs us outside before he gets a ticket."

"Lead the way," Erin follows behind.

When they depart the airport, Jay is the first to notice the rental car the second the sound of the horn blares. Erin picks up her speed, rushing alongside her husband, "Hey guys!"

Ruzek is at the back of the car, "Hey how was your flight?" He takes the suitcase and the stroller from them to put inside the trunk, "By the looks on your faces, I'll say it was rough."

"That may be an understatement," Erin sets the car seat in the back, spotting Burgess sitting in the middle, anxiously waiting to assist and hook the baby's seat in.

"What happened?" Adam slams the trunk closed.

Erin walks around to the opposite side of the car, sliding inside to see Jay now sitting in the passenger seat as Burgess carefully buckles her sleeping baby into the car seat. Erin is exhausted, she envies the baby's ability to just be sleeping right now and instead of being allowed to sleep as well, she found herself filling her friends in on their annoying flight, due to the businessman rather than her fussy baby.

"You're such a badass," Burgess applauded.

"No, I'm just a very protective mother."

"And where were you for most of it?" Burgess looks to Halstead.

"Bathroom," Erin whispered, adjusting the diaper bag on her lap, "but once he came out and caught up on what was going on, he pretty much shut the guy down. A woman he didn't mind arguing with, but him," she nods towards her husband, "he thought twice about it."

The remainder of the ride provided Erin and Jay a chance to take a short, powernap. It was just the right length because once they woke back up; they're parked outside the beautiful cabin, taking in the autumn temperature and the red and orange leaves falling from the trees. While Jay and Adam went to fetch their luggage from the trunk, Erin carried the diaper bag inside and Kim carried the alert baby who had woken up a few minutes ago. Haven was sitting up in Kim's arms, looking around the outside as the warm breeze blew through her short head of hair. The pink flower headband wrapped around her dirty blonde hair holds most of her strands of hair in place and out of her face.

A grin appeared when Haven noticed who had joined them –Kim and Adam. Her eyes fell towards Ruzek as he came down the stairs from dropping her parents' luggage off in their room. When he noticed her grin, the one that always seemed to appear any time she saw him, he cracked a matching smile, "Hey beautiful," he tickled her tummy.

Haven giggled and reached out for him. He couldn't resist her and scooped her right into his arms. It always surprised them that months ago she cried every time she was in his arms and he carried her as if she was contagious. Now looking at them, Ruzek appeared to be a natural. He held her close, lifting her high to blow bubbles against her tummy, only to bring her back down and laugh along with her high-pitched giggles.

"You are so good with her," Erin complimented. She pats against Adam's back as she walks by him in the direction of the kitchen. She takes a seat at the table and sits her daughter's diaper bag on top, reaching inside to withdraw her daughter's container of cut up apples.

"I know we only planned to go trick or treating today," Kim says as she takes a seat beside her best friend, "but while we waited for you to fly in we found a pumpkin patch nearby."

"I think Haven would love that," Erin replies; her tone of voice changing when she sees Haven now on the floor, crawling over, "wouldn't you?"

Haven sits at her mother's feet as Erin pulls the container of apple chunks onto her lap. She feels the tiny hand of her daughter wrap around the fabric of her pants leg in order to use it to pull herself up. The opposite hand reaches forward; finger pinches a tiny piece of cut up apple before pushing it into her mouth. At ten months old, the top teeth directly next to the middle teeth have made their appearance, giving her a row of four miniature teeth across the top. The bottom row held a few, but not as many as the top; it was definitely a sight, providing the baby with teeth to brighten her grin.

Haven crawls around the floor while the adults talk. Erin and Kim sitting at the table while Jay and Adam sit on the living room couch. They're all comfortable and relaxed, remaining content and undisturbed by the peaceful ambiance. This short vacation was definitely needed; they're surrounded by a lake and trees, providing them with privacy and isolation that city life never gave them. Haven crawls back, pulls at her mother's pants leg to use it to prop herself back up just to grab another bite of apple before releasing and crawling along her merry way. It's amazing how much progress and development a baby makes in just ten months, less than a year.

Everyone seems to be talking about the Wisconsin weather, but Erin's distracted with watching her baby crawl around, finding entertainment in absolutely every little thing. Even when she chimes into the conversation, her eyes remain on Haven. This cabin isn't baby proof like their house is and therefore the freedom Haven had at home wasn't the same as she had here. She crawls back over for another small piece of apple, "She is just so excited," Erin laughs.

It's like Haven can sense the atmosphere. She repeatedly crawls over to the wall to wall windows, looking out at the lake. It was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Jay had been obsessed with it too, during their conversation he had regularly looked over towards it.

"Haven," he rises from his seat as their daughter looks over her shoulder, smiling when he called her name, "you like the view?" It was rhetorical. He didn't expect a response.

Jay walks over to look out, scooping up his daughter to provide her with a different viewpoint. She finds herself lost by the scene, birds are flying around, colorful leaves have fallen and hid the green and brown grass and the water on the lake remained still and calm. He carried the baby over to her mother, allowing Erin to hand her another piece of apple before walking her back over to the view, "I swear if this was the view to our backyard we would hardly have to keep her occupied. She has yet to look away."

"And that's saying something," Erin adds, rising to her feet to join them, "especially since nothing can hold her attention longer than a minute or two."

Erin grabs the last piece of apple; it wasn't that many left since Haven had been nibbling on them while waiting in the airport. She lifts the piece of fruit and holds it up towards her daughter, "Haven," she looks when she hears her name, "here babe."

When her daughter's mouth opens, she slides the remaining piece of apple inside. Recently, they have been experimenting with more foods, providing their growing baby with formula and finger foods to gain her daily intake of vitamins and proteins. When the last bite is swallowed, Haven grins and is carefully placed back onto the floor. Her little body takes off, crawling towards Ruzek who is now bent over with his arms wide open, waiting for her to reach him. He scoops her up and instantly tosses her up into the air; she giggles.

"I swear she does the silliest things, makes the funniest faces, babbles to herself for hours and keeps me laughing all day," Ruzek asserted, tossing her into the air once again.

As the cackles of her laughter rings out, he starts to laugh, picking up the speed and the frequency of each toss. Erin looks over her shoulder at Burgess, concern etched across both of their faces. While Haven may have been laughing and enjoying the fun, she had just finished eating and that movement was not a good recipe for her tummy.

"Hey Adam," Kim calls out and before she has a chance to warn him, the baby spits up.

Chunks of apple and saliva fell onto his chin and dripped down his neck; it was disgusting, but Ruzek wasn't upset, especially since everyone was currently laughing at the expression on his face. A light grin remained on Haven's face as he carried her over to her father, "Here's your kid."

Understandably, he disappeared upstairs once Jay took a hold of his daughter. Using the edge of her bib, he lifts it to pat against the spit up around her mouth. The smile at her lips never once leaving her face. Jay holds her close, looking into her hazel eyes to see them bright and full of a pure innocence that he wants to keep within her orbs for as long as possible. That look, that gaze, that pure stare full of love that she held anytime she looked at one of her parents was something of permanence, something that both parents vowed to keep within their daughter. Even as she grins, mouth agape, drool covering her chin and a tiny booger lodged into one of her nostrils, she still looked adorable. Without giving it a second thought, Jay swiftly picks it out of her nose, struggling partially every time she frets or moves her head away; she hated this.

Once her nostrils were clear, he sets her back down on the ground only to go off to the bathroom to wash his hands. Haven seemed to snap out of her short funk; once the discomfort of having her booger picked out of her nose was over, she had gone back to her normal bubbly self. She was on the move, crawling with such ease and skill as she roamed through the lower level of the cabin. She's distracted by the endless amount of things, both familiar and unrecognizable- around the living room, dining room and the connecting kitchen.

And while keeping an eye on her daughter as she ventures around the large expanse of the cabin's first level, she engages back in conversation with Burgess.

"I am so upset I missed the district's pre-Halloween day cookout last week."

Erin reaches into the baby's diaper bag, "You honestly didn't miss much," she withdrew a container of blueberries, "and you had better things to do. Wedding planning can get crazy."

"Yeah, but I missed all the little kids dressed up in their costumes," Kim sighed, giggling to herself when she sees Haven sit near a potted floor plant, "I could have brought my niece."

"Your niece is 17; the last thing she would want to do is be surrounded by a bunch of babies, toddlers and kids dressed as the trending character as they play games and collect candy."

Kim reached over the table to grab a few blueberries, popping a couple in her mouth afterwards, "True, but she could have been my excuse to get out of it."

"Out of wedding planning," Erin astonishes in mock disbelief, "oh please Kimberly, you've been riding Adam's ass about how he needs to help you plan the wedding and because he loves you, he helped a lot more than my husband did when planning ours. You could have gotten out of it by simply postponing it and he wouldn't have complained."

"That's true but I had to prove a point."

Erin pops a blueberry in her mouth, "And what point was that?"

"That I didn't do everything I did for nothing. We argued day and night because he wouldn't help and now that he is helping, I couldn't just postpone it; he would have the last word."

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Yeah, but now that I think back on it, it would have been worth it," Kim withdrew her cell from her pocket, cutting off her continuation until she pulled up the photo, "Now look at this."

Erin squints to take a look from across the table, "…that's my baby."

"At the cookout," Kim adds.

And Lindsay's even more confused, "Yeah, I was there."

"The costume," Kim enhances.

"You bought her the costume."

"Yes, but I've never seen her in it," Kim glances back down at the photo, swooning when she swipes to the right to see the Halstead family photo, consisting of every member of the Halstead family including Will, Natalie and Owen.

Each costume dressed around and in accordance with the costume Kim had bought for Haven –she was a police officer. And that day she received more than enough compliments from their coworkers on how a ten month old baby wore the miniature uniform most of them wore on a daily basis. Even with the little, black sunglasses that she regularly pulled off her face and the police hat that she constantly pulled off her head, she had still managed to have a good time and only whined once when Jay had tried –but failed- to snug the hat back on her head for the fourth time. Owen was dressed as her patrol partner, wielding a whistle, a fake nightstick, plastic handcuffs and a bogus badge one of them managed to find at a party store. Will and Natalie had come as inmates dressed in black and white stripes with a prisoner number etched out the front, center of their costume. And Erin and Jay were dressed as bank robbers, decked out head to toe in black with ski masks on that covered half of their faces.

"You'll get to see her in her costume today," Erin reminded, popping another blueberry in her mouth, "and not to mention we'll all be dressing up in costumes that go along with the theme. So, it'll be fun," Erin's voice lowers as she watches her daughter pull herself to her feet by the rim of the potted plant, "Haven," a warning tone fills her voice as she calls out her daughter's name, subsequently causing the ten month old to look over, "What are you doing?"

She didn't expect an answer and she wasn't surprised when one did not follow. Instead, Haven grinned; this innocent look that she is starting to perfect appears on her face. While it always managed to soften her heart just a tad, Erin didn't let it sway her emotions; Jay on the other hand was an entirely different story. Erin could honestly see Haven getting away with everything if discipline was left up to Jay solely. By the time she's a toddler, she'll have him at her beck and call. And already now, at only ten months old, he couldn't find it in himself to say no even though she isn't talking yet. During Erin's inner monologue, Haven turns away, focusing back on the potted plant. She reaches her small hand inside and takes a firm grasp of the dirt and soil.

"No," Erin firmly shouts, "put it down Havie," she rises to her feet and walks over.

And while the baby couldn't talk, she understood a few words. Silently, she opens her hand and drops the dirt back in the pot.

"Come here," Erin lifts her up and carries her over to the dining room table, "you're just into everything. Kim," she waits for her friend to look over, "Can you put the plant somewhere she won't be able to get to? She tried it once and if I know her as well as I think I do, she'll try it again." Burgess salutes and walks off to accomplish her task.

Lindsay sits the baby on the edge of the dining room table and sits protectively in front of her to ensure she didn't fall off. She multitasks. As a mother, you learn to perfect the art of it. With one hand she holds her daughter's waist and with the other she digs inside and around the diaper bag until she finds the baby's wipes. After withdrawing a few and wiping down both of the baby's palms thoroughly, she tossed the wipes aside.

"What's the pout for?" A small grin appears upon Erin's face. She knows the baby –just like everyone else- hated being told no; it was one of the first terms she understood, but it had to be said. And in an effort to cheer her up, Erin leans forward to brush her nose against the baby's nose, a gesture that never fails to tug a smile onto Haven's lips.

Burgess and Jay return. The plant is gone. Jay's hands are clean. Kim comes to sit at the table as Jay goes for his seat on the couch. He scans the room until he spots the baby with her mother. It becomes nature. Knowing where your kid is at becomes second nature. He couldn't fully relax until he knew where she was and what she was getting into. Erin looked back at Haven, watching her stare at Burgess as she pops blueberries into her mouth. The baby has a healthy appetite; she always seemed to be hungry when food was in her line of sight.

"Here you go," Kim says, lifting up a blueberry and extending it; she only drops her hand once the baby pinches it up with her fingers. Surprisingly though, instead of putting it in her mouth, she looks at her mom, extending her hand forward and hovering the piece of fruit against Erin's lips, "Mama," the word wasn't new but it got to Erin every single time. She says the term and she actually knows what it means, at least, they assume she does. Erin is the only person she refers to as Mama so that has to mean something; the same goes for Jay with Dada.

"You eat it baby," Haven doesn't understand but she does heed the direction.

Haven looks back over at Burgess and happily accepts another blueberry. With her mother's hands now resting on her chubby thighs, Haven bounced up and down, her legs swinging as she held one blueberry while continually chewing the other.

"I would say she's going to spoil her appetite, but that girl can eat," Jay jokes, leaning back against the cushion of the couch. His arms are open and his feet are propped up on the coffee table, "pretty soon she'll be eating more than me."

"I don't think anyone can eat more than you," Ruzek retorted, walking down the stairs. He scanned the room until he saw Haven sitting on top of the table. He raises his hand and waves at her, grinning madly when she lifts hers in return and waves back, "She's such a great kid."

"We think so too," Jay chuckled.

The baby swallows and pops the next blueberry in her mouth. She continued to bounce on top of the table as she slowly chewed the savory snack. Her hands clapped, she squealed at the top of her lungs and she looked around the room to meet everyone's eyes. Erin could only smile; this feeling, whatever emotion coursing through her was too complex to put into terms. Instead, she kept her hands resting against Haven's thighs to ensure she didn't lean forward or bounce off the edge of the table. Lindsay gently squeezed, "Haven," her daughter looks back at her and even though Erin knows both of her hands are empty, she opens her mouth to hint that she's ready for a blueberry. The ten month old is wise –just like all babies- and she turns back to Burgess to see another piece of fruit extended towards her. She collected it in her small hand and turned back to her mom, holding out the blueberry, she chuckled when Erin ate it from her hold.

"Thank you very much," she swallowed it.

Soon enough though, Haven was tired of the blueberries and bored from sitting down in the same spot for an extended period of time. She squirmed, fussed a little and fidgeted until Erin got the hint. Her mother scooped her up and just as quickly sat her back down on the floor.

"So how far is this pumpkin patch? Is it driving distance or can we walk?" It was Jay who posed the question as Haven started to quickly crawl around the open space of the connecting three rooms –the living room, dining room and kitchen. She was always on the move, stretching out and moving her knees against the ground in an effort to get her from one spot to another.

It's Ruzek who answers, "We'll have to drive. It's about ten minutes away so not that far."

"Besides picking pumpkins, do you know what else they have to offer?"

Both parents watch the baby crawl around as Kim turns to answer Erin's follow up question, "I'm honestly not sure. I just know pumpkin picking and they'll probably have refreshments."

"Haven, no," Halstead scolded, hopping from the couch to quickly rush over to his daughter.

She was now seated near the front door, putting something too small for them to recognize what it is in her mouth. Erin jumped up too. Jay didn't bother to sit down or pick her up. Instead he leaned over, pried his daughter's mouth open and used his finger to scoop whatever inedible object she decided to put in her mouth out. She cried of course. Most babies would cry if someone held their chin and kept their lips parted while digging inside to grab some foreign item. Erin had sat down behind her, wrapped her arms around the baby's tiny waist and angled her head to see if she would be able to spot the object, "What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Jay kept his finger moving around, "I can feel it but she's fighting me on it."

"…just make sure she doesn't swallow," Erin asserted just as the baby cried louder.

"Got it," he declared, pulling his two fingers out of her mouth, "it's a button."

"That's where it went," Burgess exclaimed; she rose to her feet, avoided eye contact from her glaring friends and rushed over, "Thanks Jay and thanks Haven for finding it."

"Can you please be more careful next time? You can't just leave little things like that around; it could choke her." Erin didn't sound mad. She just sounded exhausted. She turned the small child around and pulled her into her arms, "Hi my baby," she brushed her nose across Haven's and just as proven many times before, a light smile ghosted her lips.

"The kid lives to see another day," Ruzek cheered, clapping his hands in acknowledgement.

The act earned an eye roll from Erin but Haven absolutely loved the gesture. While in her mom's arms, she joined in, clapping excitedly for a reason unknown to her. She's sat back down on her butt and Erin stands, walking close by as Haven continues to crawl around as if nothing happened. Lindsay followed behind; scanning the floor to ensure no more buttons or anything else tempting a ten month old to eat it is on the floor. She only felt comfortable enough to sit down when Haven crawled over to her dad sitting on the couch.

"Dada," Haven's hand rests against Jay's knee and she uses the little strength she has to pull herself onto her feet. His heart melted and he did everything in his power not to help her. She was independent like her mama and some of her favorite acts of independence is pulling herself onto her unstable and unreliable feet, knowing that once she let go, she would most likely fall back down.

Once she was standing, both hands on his knees, he lifted her palms and stood as well. She was much shorter and smaller than him by many. It was an adorable sight though. A strong, toned man holding both hands of his small, petite baby; he's taking small steps back as her feet turn inwards and attempts to take just the smallest step forward, supported and held up by his weight and grip. Drool covered her chin as her signature smile appeared on her face. She was having a blast, being perceived as a big girl and thinking she's walking and carrying her own weight as her dad leads her by the smallest steps around the living room.

"I swear," Erin withdraws her cell to record the moment between father and daughter, "her smile is the most beautiful thing in this world."

"I'm going to let go of her hands," Jay informs his wife.

"Is that a good idea?"

"She has to learn someday."

"Is today that day though? She's ten months."

"Babies can start walking as early as nine months."

Erin seems to consider it, recording the entire time and conversation, "Look at how she's looking at you," she grins down at her daughter's wide, hazel eyes beaming up at her father, "with the utmost trust. Babies are like that; they give out full and total trust. You let her go and she falls, if it hurts enough, she'll side-eye you. You're setting her up to fall. And right now she trusts you, she trusts that you wouldn't let her hurt herself. Want to risk that?"

Jay glances down at the baby, a small grin appearing on his face when he meets her eyes. He sees that trust, that love and innocence. With her mouth slightly ajar, and drool covering her chin, she continues to move forward as he steps back. He almost forgets the conversation; he almost forgets to reply, until he looks up and sees his wife waiting for a response.

"She's a risk-taker," at his words, Erin nods, "She's adventurous. She'll be fine."

Erin doesn't argue it anymore. She knows whatever he does is out of the best interest for their daughter. He would never purposely hurt her. And they both know that, and eventually Haven will too. Jay holds her hands and looks back down at her, "You ready, Havie?"

"Guys," the overzealous mother exclaims, ending the last video in preparation of recording another, "when she falls, because if we're being realistic here, she will fall, don't coddle her and don't act like anything bad happened because she'll cry. Let's just clap, encourage her and act like she just set a world record for walking."

By the end of her spill, Jay releases the baby's hands. And unsurprisingly, she falls right down. A look of clear panic crosses her little features but when Jay sets her back onto her feet with a hard kiss to the side of her head, she grins. He backs up a few feet, "Come on Haven. Come here baby," he coos, stooping low and opening his arms, "Come to dada. Come on."

Haven is standing, wobbling. She holds her arms out for her dad but when he doesn't come right away, a pout lines her lips. She sniffles in panic.

"Dada," she coos repeatedly, once, twice, a third time before the fourth leads to tears falling from her eyes. She no longer was focused on keeping her balance. She managed to stand alone a few seconds longer than the last time before toppling over. When her hands and knees hit the carpet, she wails, crying loudly as she crawls away.

Erin ends the video when the baby crawls to her feet.

"I told you," she says through gritted teeth. Was Erin a bit irritated? Yes. It came with the territory of being a new mother.

The expression on Erin's face changed from irritation to happiness when she looked back down at her kid, "You did so good," she commended, clapping her hands like a proud mother, "you are such a big girl," she stoops low to the ground and takes a seat in front of her.

And by the confused expression lining Haven's face, the tears suddenly stop. Her watery eyes contradicted the smile tugging at her lips. The streaks of tears contradicted the giggle that came from the pit of her stomach. She sits and claps along, babbling mama over and over again as each excited clap applauded from their hands. It seemed to do the job. Haven was no longer crying, but she also had no intention of crawling back over to her father. Jay wasn't worried though; babies had short term memories, she would eventually get over it and forget.

Haven crawls over to the coffee table, using its firm legs to pull herself to a standing position. She holds on with a death grip, mouth agape and looking around the room to smile at all of the beaming eyes. For a few seconds, she can stand unsupported. It's obvious by the way she occasionally changes her grip on the wooden table, switching from one hand to the other while scaling the side firm piece of wood.

"Haven," at the sound of her name being called from her father, she peers over her shoulder. Her grip on the coffee table remains as she gives him a smile; it appears all is forgotten and forgiven by the way the light shines in her eyes, "Come here."

Jay moves a little closer than he was before; she is a newbie walker, she didn't need too much space in between them and if he was lucky and fast enough, he'll be able to catch her when she starts to fall again. Erin records again in all hopes for a better outcome as Jay continues to encourage the wary baby. Babies aren't stupid. Haven knows what he wants her to do, but she also knows that what she's holding on to is keeping her from face planting on the floor. It takes a lot more effort from Jay, clapping his hands, waving her over, calling her name and saying encouraging words for her to even let go of the table.

Immediately she shakes and he's already prepared to reach out and catch her, but she doesn't fall. She remains standing. This time, he doesn't rush her. He allows her to get her bearings together before signaling exactly what he wants her to do.

"Haven…" his voice comes out as a whisper. He doesn't want to startle her and have her fall over, especially with a hard, coffee table positioned directly behind her. Depending on which way she fell, the possible pain wasn't worth pushing her to take a step or two.

Burgess notices his discomfort and gets up to slowly tiptoe by the coffee table, taking a stand nearby in case she goes backwards.

"Haven…" he calls again but this time he waves for her to approach.

With bright, hazel eyes staring into her dad's orbs, she considers it. She wobbles and almost falls but feels the hands of Burgess steady her.

"Here Jay," Erin asserts, tossing over the baby's beloved stuffed donkey.

And out of an instant want, her eyes grow wide and she reaches out for it. Without even thinking, she takes three steps forward before falling over, feeling herself caught by the arms of her dad before she could land face first on the ground. She might not have made it to him; he may have had to meet her halfway in order to catch her before she fell, but it didn't take away from the fact that she took not one or two, but three steps by herself without any help. And if she wasn't already safely held in her dad's arms, she would have fell over by the sudden sound of clapping and cheering from all four adults. Haven couldn't resist; the stuffed donkey dropped from her hands to allow her to clap along with everyone else. It was one of her favorite pastimes.

Erin pockets her cell and walks over, "That's enough walking for now," she scoops the baby and the stuffed donkey up in one act, "if we want to make it to the pumpkin patch before it gets dark, then we should start getting ready to head out."

Each adult nods in agreement, separating to accomplish different tasks. With the baby on her hip, Erin restocks the diaper bag; Burgess takes out the food to prepare later for lunch as Ruzek and Jay put on their socks and shoes and gather the car keys and the keys to the cabin. At one point the baby is passed from Erin to Ruzek as he ventures out to the car with Jay, "you know," Adam speaks up, "It's so good to see this little one safe and happy given everything that happened."

And speaking of the little girl, her head rests against the crook of Adam's neck; her light breathing raps against his skin as she clenches her stuffed donkey to her chest.

Jay sighs, "Yeah, she's strong like her mother."

"Strong isn't the word," Ruzek chuckles, rubbing circles over her back, "just last week I think she pulled out some of my hair. She took a grip and just pulled."

"I didn't mean that type of strong, but yeah, you're right about that too. A few days ago Bunny came to visit and she scratched her right in her face."

Adam's eyes widen, "Seriously?"

"Bunny was holding her and just kissing her and Haven had enough I guess. It wasn't on purpose but you know it made her mother proud."

Ruzek chuckles just as Jay opens the back seat of the rental car, "I can only imagine."

"Erin had a good laugh, but Bunny not so much."

"I figured…"

By the time Haven is buckled in and Jay starts the car, the girls are heading out, holding purses and the baby's diaper bag and scrambling towards the car. The short trip from the cabin to the patch was filled with a brief conversation and by the time they reach their location and park the car, the baby had fallen back to sleep. It was such a short nap and the moment they put her in the stroller, she's up again. Once they pay for their tickets and enter the park, Kim and Adam walk off for some alone time, holding hands and heading towards the trail ride.

Erin was on stroller duty, pushing the four-wheeled device as the baby excitedly looks around. Jay sticks close by, observing all the activities and the little kids running around with their parents trailing behind. When he spots a line of games, he waves his wife to follow, "I'm going to win you a prize."

"I can't remember the last time you won me something," she followed behind, "I'm excited."

Jay is reaching inside his wallet to grab the few dollars needed to pay for the game. He's handed five balls just as Erin unstraps the kid from her stroller. Haven is lifted and sat against her mom's hip just as Jay throws the first ball.

"You got it babe," she cheered, clapping her hands enthusiastically.

He tossed her a grin before throwing another ball.

"Let's clap for daddy," Erin encouraged; she balanced the baby against her hip and clapped her hands, knowing that Haven would mimic the act. She absolutely loved clapping her little palms.

"I love your smile," he complimented towards the baby before tossing another ball.

While this one missed, Haven still clapped. She remained oblivious to the game occurring in front of her and how it all operates. Her only source of entertainment came from the concentrated look on her dad's face. Erin readjusts the baby on her hips, "Alright babe," she claps, "you just need one more if you're going to win us a prize."

"Start picking out which one you want," he confidently asserted, angling his wrist in the best direction, "this shouldn't take long at all."

She rolled her eyes at his arrogance.

The baby squirmed in her arms and Erin took a step back to avoid distracting Jay. It was taking him longer than normal to throw the last ball. He was too focused, concentrated on the game in order to successfully win his wife a stuffed animal she could honestly do without. The baby continued to grow restless and bored and to be honest so was Erin, "Can you just throw the ball already? You'll either hit it or you won't."

"Thanks for your confidence," he rolled his eyes.

Yet, the ball remained in his hand. He waited for the kids beside him to finish playing before he even looked back at the game.

With the baby's constant squirming, Erin decides to place her down on her wobbly feet, holding her hands as she stands and bounces in front of her. Occasionally she would lean or tilt but her mother's legs were always there for support. Both of Erin's pointer fingers were held by Haven's small, yet tight grip, "You got this babe. Just throw."

"Kiss the ball Havie," he holds it down to her eye level, "for good luck."

"No Jay; you don't know where that ball has been."

Jay nods, withdrawing it away from the baby's face. Instead, without giving it a second thought to contemplate over blowing the game, he throws it. And thankfully, he makes the shot. It hits the required target and out of some wifely impulse, she releases the baby's hands to clap ecstatically. Haven holds her balance but the second she mimics her mother's clapping, she starts to tumble over only to be caught by Jay's arms swooping in to lift her up.

"What would you like?"

Erin turns away from her family to look up at the game host. He patiently waited for an answer and now as she stands and thinks, she really should have decided back when Jay had told her. As she scans the row of hanging stuffed animals, she spots Haven's stuffed donkey in the stroller and while it looked torn and worn, she knew there was no way Haven would want a replacement. Even if Erin was going to replace it, this particular stand held no stuffed donkeys, "I'll take the stuffed unicorn," she collects her prize once the man holds it out, "Thanks."

It had drawn in her daughter's attention right away. It was white with pink hooves and it's horn matched the shade of pink on its hooves. From her husband's arms, Haven reached for the animal and knowing her tiny child wouldn't be able to hold it on her own, Erin extends it towards her anyway. The stuffed animal was pretty big. It's head was practically the size of Haven and it's body was probably two or three of her put together.

"How are we going to transport this back home?" Erin tucks it under her arm as Jay sets the baby back inside of her stroller.

"We can mail it back."

The answer is accepted by the simple nod of her head. Erin holds her arm around the neck of the unicorn and follows behind her husband to venture further inside. A few more games they played as they passed, including a squirting water game, played solely by Jay but with the baby on his lap as he maneuvered her hands over the buttons and pushed them down for her. They didn't come in first place, not even second or third, but fourth was pretty impressive. Eventually as the day went on, the baby no longer sat in her stroller; it had been reserved for the unicorn. That stuffed animal was more of an inconvenience to hold than a ten month old baby.

"Excuse me," Erin felt the bottom of her shirt being tugged, "Lemonade?"

The family looks over to a small lemonade stand set up near the entrance of the actual pumpkin patch. Sitting behind the stand is another little girl around the same age as the one who approached Erin. She read the sign; it was fifty cents for a cup. And in support Erin grabbed a dollar, "We'll take two."

The other little girl, with the supervision of her mother, pours two plastic cups of lemonade and passes the refreshing beverage over to her. Jay comes to grab his cup, sliding his daughter to his opposite hip in order to easily lean forward and grab the glass, "Yummy," he heard Erin compliment, "This is just what I needed." The two little girls laughed and their mother watched on.

Jay and Erin continued on to see what else this event had to offer. They wanted to pick pumpkins last, maybe after Kim and Adam are finished with their alone time. Currently, the couple was back from their hayride and were now battling each other in various games.

"I'll be right back," Erin called out, leaving her husband, baby and stroller behind as she walked to stand in line to a concession stand.

Balancing the baby on one hip and pushing the stroller with his free hand, he walks through the crowd, being careful not to bump into anyone or crash the stroller into the back of anyone's ankles. It was a skill picked up by being a parent. You learned to carry and manage multiple things. And honestly, he's seen his wife do this and so much more. She managed to hold a crying baby, a diaper bag, her purse and push a stroller –the powers of motherhood.

An empty bench is offered to him by a couple and he happily and thankfully accepts it. He locks the wheels of the stroller parked beside him and sits the baby down on the other side. Jay had watched her the entire time as she watched her mom stand in line. Haven was aware of so much and it amazed him every day just how smart kids truly are; they honestly don't get enough credit. Jay saw her try to slide to the edge of the bench and he simply slides his hands beneath her underarms and sits her back, flushing her back against the back of the bench and her short legs rest spread wide open. One day, her legs will grow long enough to dangle over the bench and eventually they'll dangle and her feet will rest against the ground like his.

All of the people here used to be her age. They used to be her size and had the innocence that she currently possesses. At some point, it's unfortunately lost. Haven finally pulls her eyes away from her mother to watch children run around and play; she's too young to join in. But, one day that'll be her, running around and playing with Danny and Owen. Haven turns to see a couple jogging with their dog strapped to a leash. Erin and Jay used to go out jogging but honestly it all stopped the moment she came into the picture. It just didn't feel like they had enough time, between work, friends and family, it was a lot to manage. The seat on the opposite side of Haven is taken soon enough by a couple around the same age as her own parents.

"Oh, she's just too adorable," the woman perched atop of her boyfriend's lap complimented, "How old is she?"

Jay watches his daughter as he answers, "Ten months."

"Hi," the woman waved yet Haven simply stared.

"Say hi," Jay does a wave towards the woman. He watches his daughter in an effort to coax her into greeting the lady beside her. Haven doesn't. It seems to go by her unnoticed since her eyes are back on her mother, smiling as she watches Erin come over.

Erin's cup of lemonade was empty and she makes a short stop to drop it into the trash before continuing her walk, "Here, taste please," she extends the dessert towards him, "It's pumpkin bread and Kim recommended it so I had to give it a try."

Jay rips off a piece just as Erin breaks off a tinier piece, extending it towards Haven. The baby opens her mouth and eats it from her mom's fingers.

"It's pretty good."

"Pretty good," Erin repeats in surprise, "this is delicious. I'll have to look up a recipe." She breaks off another small piece and feeds the baby again.

"Hey guys," Ruzek jogged over, "the pumpkin patch is getting a little crowded. We should go in before all of the nice and fresh pumpkins are taken."

After withdrawing their tickets from her pocket, she hands them over to Jay after he unlocks the wheels of the stroller. Kim picks up Haven and Erin grabs the handles of the stroller to follow them and push through the crowd.

"I'm starving. I can't wait to get back and cook lunch."

"Pumpkin bread," Erin holds it out while pushing the stroller with her free hand.

"Yes, thank you," Kim eagerly breaks a piece; Haven reaches for the piece in Kim's hand and tries to take it for herself only to be disappointed when it's quickly thrown into Kim's mouth. She grabs another piece, one that is much smaller than the last and hands it to the baby, "Hopefully all is forgiven?"

And by the smile on Haven's face, Kim would assume so.

Handing their tickets over and being granted access to the pumpkin patch, they find the clearest spot they can –which is still crowded- and they lock the wheels of the stroller in order to search.

"Want to help?" Burgess sits the baby down onto her feet and maybe it's the ground, the grass and the dirt but Haven seems more stable and balanced planted on her two feet this time. She doesn't walk though and she barely moves. It's like she knows that any type of movement will send her falling. Kim crouches down beside her and lifts a pumpkin, "Do you like this one?"

"That's huge," Adam retorted, grabbing another pumpkin, "What about this?"

Jay shakes his head, "That shape is all off. She would want one like this."

"No," Erin rejects all of the recommendations, "That's discolored. If I know my daughter, this is the pumpkin for her," she holds it up.

"How about we let Haven be the judge?"

No verbal agreement is made but it's understood. Each adult stoops down low in front of the ten month old and hold out their chosen pumpkins. Haven looks at each one, not examining it for detail or anything of the sort; she's looking at it with interest and curiosity. It was the first time she's seen such a thing –a pumpkin. Haven takes a step forward and wobbles a bit, only for Jay to grab her arm in order to hold her upright.

"Do you like the pumpkin mommy picked out?" Erin asks, holding her chosen one up.

"No," Jay intercepts and sits his wife's pumpkin back on the ground, "You can't coax her into getting it. Let her choose naturally."

"She doesn't know to choose naturally," Erin argued.

"Guys…" Adam whispered.

"You're going to make her choose based off the person and not the actual pumpkin," Kim added.

Erin rolled her eyes, "How do you expect her to choose? It's not like she's going to be making a pros and cons list on each pumpkin."

"Guys…" Adam repeated a little louder this time.

"Give her a little credit," Jay retorted.

"I give her enough credit but she doesn't know that we want her to pick one."

Kim nods in support of Erin's last comment, "I agree, she doesn't know, but maybe we sit them down and move away from them and whichever one she goes to first is the one she chooses."

"Guys..! Look," Ruzek's voice is much louder, firmer and fixed. He's nodding towards the baby. His pumpkin no longer in his arms and he's standing near Haven, holding her hand as she leans forward to play with a pumpkin, "I think she chose one already." And it happened to be none of theirs. She had found one on her own, it's smaller than the ones they chose, it isn't exactly the perfect shape but she seems to like it.

"I guess that's one way to have her choose," Erin shrugs, rising and lifting her pumpkin up as well, "And I think we all found our pumpkins too."

Collecting their pumpkins and doing one last walk through of everything the Halloween event has to offer, they decide to head back to the cabin. Soon, it'll be time for trick or treating and this place turns into a haunted, scary event for the older kids in town. Erin didn't want Haven anywhere near that. Tucking their pumpkins and the large stuffed animal in the trunk of the car, slamming it shut and hopping inside, each person –besides the driver- relaxes and shuts their eyes for a few minutes as they head back to the cabin.

That powernap is needed because by the time they get back to the cabin Kim and Erin start preparing lunch, Haven is energized and sits near the cabinets, opens them and starts to pull out as many pots and pans as she can before she's stopped by her mother. Erin didn't realize how necessary baby proofing is until this vacation; she had taken it for granted at home. Knowing if she looked away for a second Haven wouldn't be able to stick her finger in a socket, open bottom cabinets and pull out whatever's inside or climb up the stairs. To keep her occupied though, Erin may have stopped her from pulling out more pots and pans, but the ones she did pull out, Erin kept out and smiled as Haven started making music, beating her hands against the metal or lifting the smallest pot to bang against another.

Jay is at the table lying out newspaper as Ruzek brings each pumpkin inside and rinses them off. It's teamwork. Erin and Kim cooking lunch while Adam and Jay cut the crown off each pumpkin and began scooping the gunk out of the inside. Hearing the sounds of banging pots and pans allowed the parents to look away for longer periods of time, as long as they heard the noise, they knew where she was and what she was doing.

As the food cooks, Erin brings one pot, one pan and a wooden spoon into the living room. It's a better viewpoint from the dining room table than it is from the kitchen. It gives them all a view from the table as Kim and Erin join the guys in outlining the design they want on their pumpkins with a marker before cutting out the shape with a serrated knife.

"I have no artistic ability," Kim jokes, laughing at the design of her pumpkin; it's unfinished but at the rate she's going, it'll be done soon.

"That's because you're rushing," Erin remarked, only just now finishing the first eye of her pumpkin, "You can't rush art."

"It's not like it's going to be in a gallery somewhere."

Erin rolled her eyes, "You're just jealous."

Both Erin and Jay stopped carving when the sound of banging pots and pans had stopped. Both were alerted to the presence of their daughter, sitting by her instruments and averting her eyes between her new toys and her parents sitting at the table. It was as if she was debating on what to do. Did she want to continue making music or did she want to join them in whatever they were doing? Finally, she made up her mind just as Kim finished her pumpkin and went to go check on the food. Haven crawled over, taking a seat at her mom's feet before using Erin's leg to pull herself up. She was trying to see onto the table but her height was too short.

Holding up her messy hands, Erin slides her arms underneath the baby's underarms and lifts her onto her lap, being careful not to mess up her clothes with the pumpkin carvings and guts on her fingers. Haven leans back, resting the back of her head between her mother's breasts as Erin continues to carve her pumpkin. She's going even slower than she was at first since Haven is now on her lap and she's cutting into a pumpkin with a sharp, serrated knife.

"So, what's the plan for the rest of our vacation? We only have today planned out." It's Kim who sparks the conversation as she re-enters the dining room, holding a bag of tea lights in her hand.

"Jay and I were talking about going hiking Sunday morning," Ruzek informed, brows furrowed as he concentrated on the face of his pumpkin, "We had spotted a trail a few minutes from here when we were heading towards the pumpkin patch."

Erin brushed a kiss atop her daughter's head, "Is it kid friendly?"

"I guess, maybe if we go the basic route."

"Okay that's Sunday," Burgess said, inserting a tea light inside of her pumpkin, "What about tomorrow? We have a whole day ahead of us on Saturday?"

"There's that fall festival," Erin spoke up, brushing another kiss against the back of her daughter's head, "we did research before we came down to see what events would be going on. I saw something about a fall festival and it's about a thirty minute drive from here. It has hayrides, games, a live band, candy apples, corn on the cob, apple-picking and if you dress up in a costume you get in for free."

"I love that, it'll definitely exhaust Haven so she falls right to sleep and maybe when we get back we can make a nice pot of chili tomorrow for dinner, curl up in front of the fire, watch a movie and tell ghost stories –something relaxing before that strenuous hike the next day."

A chorus of agreements float around the table. The aroma of tonight's dinner starts to fill the house. The food was going to be done soon. No one needed to check on it to know that. Haven continues to sit between her mother's arms as Erin finishes off the mouth of the pumpkin. Everyone had already been done with theirs, inserting the tea lights, and Jay and Ruzek had brought Haven's pumpkin to the table last with every intention to teamwork it.

Once finished with her own pumpkin, Erin sets the baby back down on the floor and goes to wash her hands. Kim checks on the food while Jay and Adam argue over how to divide the tasks. It eventually gets settled on Adam cutting open the crown and scooping out the gunk while Jay draws the decorative outline and carving it out.

"It's getting late," Kim mentions, "What time should we start getting ready to head out?"

While rinsing the pumpkin carvings off her hands, Erin responds, "It's only a little after two in the afternoon. We have time, but I figure we can start getting ready after we eat. Jay and I are going to need as much time as possible to wrangle in the toddler, give her a bath and dress her in her costume. Just bear with us."

Lindsay reaches and dries her hand on the towel thrown onto the counter before venturing off in search of her little one. Erin sees Jay watching her as Ruzek scoops the mess out of the inside of her smaller pumpkin. Haven is back at the large windows looking out at the lake; she's absolutely obsessed with the view and Erin couldn't blame her. This time though, Haven wasn't sitting, she may have crawled over but she used the small, end table to pull herself to her feet and both of her hands rest against the glass as she stares out, "If we ever move, we need to search for a place with a view. It keeps her occupied."

"You won't hear any arguments from me on that."

"Haven," Erin calls out gently; she's careful not to startle her daughter as she approaches, "What is it about this view, huh?" She doesn't expect an answer. She simply crouches down beside her daughter, holds her hand up against Haven's back and looks out with her.

Haven turns to face her mom, hands no longer on the glass but now resting on her mother's knees. Erin smiles, "I never knew what it would feel like to have my heart beating outside of my body until I had you." Her words are just above a whisper and aren't meant for anyone's ears but her daughter's. This relationship she's building with her would be the complete opposite of the one she had with her own mother. Her daughter's life would be filled with good memories, endless love and that constant reminder that she's always wanted.

Her daughter wouldn't have to look for attention elsewhere. She wouldn't need to take care of her and Jay; a parents' responsibility is to take care of their child until they're old enough to take care of themselves. Haven wouldn't need to search for love in the wrong places and build friendships for all the wrong reasons. She would be reminded of just how much she's loved every day; she'll be told so much she'll want it to stop but Erin doesn't think she will ever be capable of stopping.

If Erin had to thank Bunny for anything, it'll be to show her how to avoid being a bad mother. That's a fear of all new mothers, wondering what if you cross that line and venture into the territory of being titled a bad mother and for Bunny, she did cross that line, at least in Erin's mind. She used drugs and alcohol and enabled the same of her daughter. She approved of the bad influences in Erin's life and wanted the good influences, like the Voights, to stay away. Erin never had rules; she could go a night or two without going home and her mother wouldn't even have noticed. Sometimes her mother wouldn't even return home. Sometimes, most times, her mother wouldn't even pay the bills because she chose to use the money on her own personal wants instead of what was best for them both. Charlie had taken Erin and Annie under his wing, provided them with a warm place to stay and actual food on the table. She had been arrested, suspended from school, and so much more yet she's here in this moment with a good career, the best husband and a great daughter. And even though she went through all of that growing up, she knows it needed to happen. It was supposed to happen in order to get her to this moment. She is the best mother she can be because Bunny wasn't.

Haven's hands continued to rest against her mother's knees but her attention was drawn outside of the window. Erin's palms covered them and it turned her daughter's attention back to her.

"Give mama kiss," Erin puckered her lips and just like many times before Haven leaned forward and brushed her own lips against her mom's, "Thank you."

Erin remains crouched low, legs growing tired but she refused to move as long as Haven's hands remained resting against her knees. Both mother and daughter watched nature move around outside, from the trees blowing in the wind, the birds flying above and the ducks swimming through the lake, it all was enchanting and held both of their attention. It was peaceful. The chatter behind them seemed to fade out, until she felt Kim's hand on her shoulder. Erin looked up to see her friend smiling, "You didn't hear me. The food is ready."

The baby's hand is removed the second Erin stands up straight. Haven wobbles, unsuspecting of the sudden change and she tumbles down to her behind. Fortunately, she doesn't cry. Erin scoops her daughter up and carries her over to the table. Time had passed while she bonded with her ten month old. Apparently, the guys finished Haven's pumpkin, cleaned up the mess at the table, washed the knives and helped Kim set the table for dinner.

"Sorry guys, I would have helped…" she felt bad but they brushed it off.

"You were busy," Jay says, nodding towards the baby in her arms, "don't worry about it."

Erin sits with Haven on her lap. A part of her isn't ready to relinquish hold of her daughter just yet. She needed a moment. She needed a few moments. With her daughter's back pressed against her chest, Erin snuggled into her, burying her face into the crook of her daughter's neck. She'll feed her. Jay can bathe her. Two empty plates are set down in front of her and Erin smiles thankfully at her husband; he already knows what she's thinking. The food is passed around the table and each person makes their plates; Erin makes two, one for herself and one for Haven. The baby's plate though consists of a morsel of each dish cooked. She was going to have a bottle a little later anyway.

"It's going to be so creepy at night."

"What is?" Erin asks as she cuts up her daughter's chicken.

"…the cabin."

"I don't think this place can get creepy."

"Yeah, true in the daytime, but when the sun goes down anyone will be able to look in here or try to break in, using the darkness as cover."

Haven reaches to grab a piece of her cut up chicken; Erin smiles, sets the knife as far away to the side and responds, "Whoever breaks into a cabin full of detectives does not have the best of luck."

"What if someone watches us from outside?"

Ruzek chuckles, "Babe," he pats Kim's hand reassuringly, "everyone sleeps upstairs so it's not like they'll watch us as we sleep."

"What if they watch us while we're awake?"

Jay shrugs unbothered, "…then let's give them a show."

Erin rotates between eating her meal and feeding Haven hers. The only thing the baby uses her fingers for is the cut up chicken. Occasionally Erin scoops a bit of squash or mashed potatoes up on the spoon and airplane feeds it to the baby. Within seconds, her mouth becomes covered and smeared with squash and mashed potatoes. Erin leaves it; it's no point in wiping it away right now when it'll only return. Haven reaches for another bite of chicken when she already held a piece in her hand. She babbled to herself, no longer eating and showing no interest in putting either piece of chicken in her mouth. As long as she was content though, Erin was fine and just focused in on eating her own meal.

"Have you guys started planning for her first birthday yet?"

The conversation had moved on at some point; Erin was too distracted with Haven to notice until the focus of Kim's stare pulled her back in, "Pardon?"

"I was wondering whether or not you guys have started planning for her first birthday."

"It's not until December," Jay remarked.

"So, I know mothers who start planning months in advance. To them, if you started now they would probably consider it last minute."

"That's ridiculous," Ruzek chimed in.

"And besides she's turning one, she won't even remember what we do for her birthday," Jay makes a valid point, "We'll probably just have some family and friends at the house. We'll save the grand birthday parties for when she's old enough to remember them."

Kim nods. Jay rises from the table to dispose of his empty plate. And when he returns, his eyes are set on the baby sitting in her mother's lap, playing with her food.

"Here," he lifts the already made bottle from the table and extends it.

Haven drops the chicken out of her hands and reaches for it, "Dada."

"Crap," Erin muttered, reaching onto her lap to grab the chicken her daughter carelessly dropped.

"Let's go little bit," Jay asserts, opening his arms up for her, "You are in desperate need of a bath and then costume time."

Haven has her bottle in her mouth and she drinks the formula inside the bottle, her unfinished plate is forgotten. Since both of her hands are occupied, she simply leans forward and allows herself to be swept up in her dad's arms, "Remember lukewarm water," Erin called out.

"This isn't my first rodeo," he shouted over his shoulder, "but I'm going to let her finish her bottle first. I'll leave her down here while I run up to start her bath water."

Jay sits her down and pecks the top of her head as she continues to drink her bottle. Her hands and mouth are completely filthy and based on the smile on her face it seems she absolutely loves it. She's absorbed by the warm formula in her bottle, drinking down the last of her meal as her dad walks away. Either full or uninterested in the rest of her bottle, she drops it and rolls onto her hands and knees, following in the direction of her dad as he climbs the stairs.

"Babe," Erin calls out, finishing up the rest of her meal, "the baby is following you."

He stops in the middle of the staircase and turns around. Haven is one stair up, using the wood steps and the railing to climb. Jay walks back down the stairs and moves behind the baby. He wants to encourage her. He stands behind her just in case she tumbles back, but it seems to take forever for her to even attempt to get to the next step. It's hard for her, especially with her wobbly feet. She tries to use the strength in her ankles and her wrists to push up and climb onto the next step, "That's right baby!"

Haven looks over at the sound of her mother's cheer. Jay is leant forward, hands wrapped around her small waist as she raises one hand to wave at her mom. At this rate, it's going to take all night for her to get up the stairs. Instead of patiently waiting, he impatiently scoops her up and climbs the staircase two at a time.

"I haven't been trick or treating since I was a little girl!" Kim appears to be more excited than anyone as she and Erin clear off the table.

"Well technically we're taking her trick or treating, we're not actually trick or treating ourselves."

"Same thing," Kim brushed off.

"Did you bring the basket?" Erin scrapes the scraps of food off the plate and into the trash.

"I sure did," Kim answers, "and I brought the stuffed dog."

Ruzek entered the kitchen, "Alright ladies, I just put our pumpkins outside and I lit the tea lights, they look creepy enough. Anyway, I'm about to head upstairs and put on my costume."

"I'll be up soon," Burgess called out, bringing the last dish back into the kitchen.

Lindsay and Burgess pack up the leftover food, rinse, wash and load the dishes inside the dishwasher and clear off the table before heading upstairs. Kim heads left and Erin heads right to poke her head inside of the bathroom. Jay had just finished bathing her. She was seated on a towel at his feet as he washed his hands at the sink.

"Why are you washing your hands?" Erin smirks, leaning against the opened door, "And why is she naked and sitting on her towel?"

"She spit up the second I lifted her from the tub so I had to put your kid in the sink to basically give her a second bath," he grumbled, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Before Erin had a chance to laugh or even respond, the naked baby had rolled onto her hands and knees and started crawling down the hallway, only standing when she makes it to the staircase, grabbing onto the railing and pulling herself to her feet.

"No, no, no," Erin chided, running over to her, "You're not ready for that."

Jay pokes his head out of the bathroom; his eyes wide and frantic until he spots the naked baby now in her mother's hold, "Okay good, you caught her."

"I swear she moves fast."

He chuckles, lifting her towel from the floor to carry it over, "Tell me about it. She tried to escape when I sat her down beside me to take her onesie off. That's why I closed the door."

"You basically had to hold her against her will."

Jay nods, handing over the towel, "Exactly."

Erin feels the slight shiver coming from her daughter as she drapes the towel around her shoulders, "Let's get you into your costume my sweet Dorothy." Jay follows behind.

The process of dressing a ten month old was somewhat simple. She made it easy for them, most likely because she was cold and in need of clothes on her body. Haven didn't even fight her mother when she parted the little bit of hair of top her head into two and used two blue ribbons to make the shortest pigtails.

It was Kim's idea for all of them to be in a group costume so once Haven's costume was chosen, there's were selected based off of that. Erin beautifully stands in front of her daughter poised as the good witch as Jay is beside her dressed as the scarecrow. Haven is little Dorothy with her hair in two short pigtails, the blue and white checkered pattern dress, white socks and ruby red shoes. These shoes had to be the ones Haven loved the most; these shoes were the only ones she has not tried to pull off her feet. She didn't give them a tug at all.

"Come on my little Dorothy," Erin scoops her daughter up and carries her out of the room, "Jay, don't move so fast, you're dropping hay."

He chuckled and went back for the few strands that came out, "I'll meet you guys downstairs. I'm just going to get my costume in order."

Erin laughs and walks away, noticing how Haven stares amazed –or possibly confused- at her dad's sudden wardrobe change. She hears talking coming from downstairs, and her nosiness kicks in, forcing her to shift in her mom's arms to see.

"Alright guys," Erin called out, carefully climbing down the stairs, "we need to get Dorothy back to Kansas tonight."

Haven's eyes are focused downward, staring at the bright, ruby red slippers on her feet. It's too shiny and distracting for her to tear away. It's only when a basket is held out that she looks up. It's a baby's basket –so small and lightweight. And inside is the smallest stuffed dog that Kim was able to find to actually fit inside of it.

"Can't go back to Kansas without Toto."

The grip she has on the basket is impressive. Haven held on tightly to it even as her mother sat her down on the ground. The basket may have been in her hold and the shoes may have been constantly calling for the baby's attention but Kim's costume is what truly held it. While Ruzek was the lion, Kim was dressed as the wicked witch of the west, green painted face, hands and all.

"You really went all out," Erin whispered, walking over to examine the face paint, "That's going to be a bitch to scrub off, especially off your eyebrows."

"It'll be worth it."

"I don't think Haven knows how she feels about your costume just yet."

At Ruzek's words, they turn to face her. She's no longer sitting. Now she stands, hand clutching onto the couch to keep her from falling over. And somehow, she had managed to still hold the small handle of the basket, keeping her grip firm as if she was afraid that it'll disappear if she let it go. But while she stood there, body angled towards her mom, her attention was all on Kim. She didn't know whether to giggle, smile or cry. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know if it was funny or scary. She's so distracted by Kim's appearance that she lets go of the couch and for the first time she takes a step and continues to stand; she doesn't fall over.

"Erin, did you see that?" It's Jay's voice as he watches from the stairs.

"Yes," Erin spoke in a whisper; she didn't want to startle the baby, especially as she ran to go retrieve her cell phone, "I'm taking pictures and recording this. I'll have to send it to Voight."

Haven stands on her own, dressed as Dorothy and holding Toto. Erin returns, phone in hand and the camera app loaded up and ready. She takes multiple shots, not even looking at the screen to see if they're actually presentable. She'll look and pick through them later.

"Good job Haven," Kim applauded, stepping towards her. The basket in Haven's hand drops and Erin continues to take more.

It seems as if the baby is still trying to figure out how to feel in regards to Kim's costume. She wants to figure it out from a distance though, so when Burgess takes another step, Haven takes another step away from Kim and towards her father. She actually managed to take two complete steps without falling; that's an accomplishment within itself. And when Erin nods for Kim to continue approaching her daughter, possibly unnerving the poor child into another step away from Burgess and towards her dad. Jay takes a seat on the bottom step, "Come here baby," he opens his arms for her and she accepts the gesture, taking the final two steps needed to reach him. And just before she topples over, losing her balance from being a newbie walker and standing for such a long period of time, Jay swoops in, collecting her in his embrace, "That's my girl," he peppers kisses around her face as the adults in the room clap and cheer.

Haven didn't know what she had done to receive such a congratulatory applause but she liked it. She even joined in and started babbling animatedly while clapping her own hands. She didn't need a reason to clap, just seeing everyone beaming at her while applauding her for some unknown reason. The clapping only dies down when Erin grabs Dorothy's basket and the baby's thin jacket just in case there's a slight chill.

"Should we go right or left?"

Burgess doesn't answer but she leads the way. She had time to explore before the Halsteads arrived and she located the lines of houses leading towards the bonfire tonight. It wasn't many homes on such a reserved and secluded street but it was enough for a ten month old to experience her first Halloween. Their little Dorothy was carried most of the way and only set down onto her feet after they climbed the porch stairs of the first house. Each of her small hands was held by her parents as Jay rang the doorbell, "Trick or treat," he stared down at Haven the entire time.

An elderly couple answers and Erin swaps her hand for Haven's basket. Her stance is being supported by her dad's hand as she holds her basket.

"Aw, now isn't she just the cutest Dorothy," the elderly woman admired, leaning low to place one chocolate bar inside of her basket, "Look at her Walter. Doesn't she remind you of our little Jennifer," the woman looks up to meet Erin's gaze, "Jennifer is our granddaughter; they're about the same age; happy Halloween, sweetie," the couple waves before shutting the door.

As they leave the front porch, other children are running up, dressed as goblins, witches, ghouls and vampires. Haven is transfixed upon their costumes, staring at them even as she's carried away to the next house. When she spots another group of kids, dressed up as cats, princesses and television characters, she points her finger over her dad's shoulder and babbles loudly.

"Are you looking at the princess?" Erin ponders, following her daughter's line of sight, "Want to be a princess next year. Duly noted."

By the third and fourth house, her basket was already filled to the top. There was no point in finishing down the row of houses, especially because Haven didn't seem as excited about the idea of trick or treating as her parents had. Haven was more engrossed by the other children dressed in costumes, jumping inside piles of leaves and visiting the same houses in a row since the street was limited in how many homes were built.

"Bonfire," Kim calls out, grabbing onto her fiancé's hand and tugging him away.

While the couple was eager to cuddle up in front of the bonfire, Jay and Erin saw the pond and watched Haven's interested gaze observe the ducks walk along the ground and float on top of the water. This vacation was more for her than it was for them; if they wanted an adult trip, they would have left her at home with Voight or Olive.

"Want to see the ducks?" Jay scoops her up and sets her on his shoulders.

By instinct, she holds onto his ears as he holds tightly onto her short legs draped over his shoulders. Erin walks closely behind, taking photos and allowing those new mother worries to take over, "Hold her tight," she continued to warn, "Be careful; she keeps letting go of your ears to clap," she pocketed her cell after realizing multitasking this was too difficult right now, "She can always walk; how about we let her walk? It's much safer."

"I'll put her down when we get closer to the pond," Jay chuckles, extending one hand to hold the baby's hand while the other continued to hold onto her leg.

"Look at the ducks Havie," Erin pointed out.

Both parents would love to know what she's thinking as her wide hazel eyes scan the ducks walking around and quacking. She points occasionally, following their moving bodies with her finger. She even babbles and claps her hands when she sees them flap their wings but go nowhere; they simply lift a few feet from the ground, their wings flapping against the water, but they remain floating.

"Look at them go," Jay whispers, watching as a family of ducks run across the field on their way back to the pond. Most of the ducks, if not all, were headed back to the water, probably because the town's bonfire was filling with people, including children who didn't understand that they shouldn't chase or try to aggressively grab the ducks.

When the family of ducks makes it back to the water, Haven is put back down on the ground; holding onto the bottom of her mom's costumed dress for support. Her attention is completely absorbed by the sight of them. She loves animals and it's a sweet sight to see. Every day they discover her likes and dislikes and animals are definitely something she finds herself enjoying. With her hand wrapped around the bottom fabric of the dress, she gives it a tug until Erin looks down, spotting her daughter looking up at her while pointing her finger to the ducks.

"Yes, can you say ducks?"

She doesn't.

Instead just as quickly as one would imagine how short a baby's attention span is, it breaks away from the ducks when she sees a family of trick or treaters, all dressed in similar costumes. The youngest of the kids is who draws Haven in; the little girl has to be a little over a year and by recognizing another fellow baby in the bunch, she runs over, her parents following closely behind. The mother is blushing by the time she catches up to her daughter who stands smiling a few feet from them, "Isn't she just the cutest pirate?"

"Thank you," the woman scoops her daughter up into her arms.

"Hi sweetheart," Erin waves at the little girl and grins even wider when she returns the sentiment, "I just adore your costume."

"Can you say thank you?"

At her mother's words, the little girl bashfully turns to burrow her face into the crook of her mother's neck, before nodding, "Thank you," she murmured.

And before Erin could respond with a 'you're welcome,' she heard whining. Her ten month old was looking up at her, eyes wide and watery, yanking at her mom's dress as she holds her arms up indicating her interest to be lifted. Haven was jealous. That much was obvious. She wasn't prone to sharing her mother's attention with another baby.

To appease her daughter and quiet her whines, Erin lifts her up, smirking as Haven mimics the other baby's bashful position. She buries her face into the crook of her neck and sniffles. Erin rubs circles into her daughter's back as Jay makes their exit, nodding towards the young family before leading his own away.

Burgess and Ruzek are now standing in a cluster of people; Erin and Jay have no idea what's going on but they prefer to stay away from such a large group of people, especially with a fussy ten month old acting extra clingy in her arms. It left the Halsteads scanning the rows of lawn chairs in search of an available one. It's located but it's pretty close to the fire so Jay leaves their side to pull it back a few feet, "Thanks babe," Erin carries the baby over and she waits for Jay to sit first.

Once he's rested on the lawn chair, legs spread open and feet planted firmly on the ground. Some of the hay from his costume had fallen along the way but trick or treating was over and he couldn't find it in himself to care. With the baby on her hip, Erin took a seat between his opened legs, leaning back to rest her back against his chest as the baby sat on her lap.

"That's such a cute costume," a parent complimented, glancing at Haven as they walked pass.

"Thank you."

The fire burns high. The fire is hot and warms everyone within feet of it. Some people are sitting closer than others, but with an energetic ten month old, it was better and safer to sit at a distance. Jay leaned his chin to rest against his wife's shoulder, wrapping his arms around her waist, "We needed this break," his lips brushed against the skin behind her ear.

"…maybe we should make a tradition out of this."

"Vacations around Halloween or coming here around Halloween?"

She shifts in his embrace to look up at him, "Coming here…it's peaceful. It's out of the city and the baby seems to enjoy it. It's just with everything we've been through from losing Jules, Charlie coming back, Bunny, Nadia, my relapse, your divorce, work, Tyler, all of that. We deserve this."

Jay stares forward, watching the flames of the fire blaze and start to lighten the surroundings as the sun starts to set. She was right. Sometimes taking a step back, going somewhere quiet is good; it's okay. His hold around her waist tightened and he pulled her closer, "We almost didn't have this. We almost didn't make it."

"Are you referring to you and your first wife being the reason why?"

He rolls his eyes, "I never loved her. It was a mistake."

"What about when you walked out on me all those years ago?"

A reflective smile graced his face, "You and I both know I needed to do that. I didn't like it but I had to do it. I got the help I needed. And besides, I came back didn't I?"

"Yeah," she whispered, "You did."

Haven squirms in her mother's embrace, too energetic to remain lying in her arms. She wanted to get up, she wanted to move around and spread her legs. Erin allowed her to wriggle out of her arms and onto her feet, standing a bit unbalanced on the dried dirt. Her hand remains against her mother's thigh, holding herself up as Erin leans back into Jay's arms, "Why did you leave?"

She continues the topic, angling her head to glance at his face as he considered his answer; he shrugs, "I'm not sure really. Part of me didn't want you to have to deal with my issues, especially because I knew your past and you didn't deserve to tack on my weight too. And another part of me was a little embarrassed about it and looking back, I know that was stupid and I could have just stayed and worked through it with you, but I did what I thought was best."

"I love you, you know that, right?"

He brushed his lips over hers with a small smile, "Yeah I do."

The small brush of the lips turns into something more, something deeper that only ends when Erin draws away the second she feels Haven's hand disappear from her thigh. Their daughter was still watching the fire, but standing up by herself. She takes a step forward and Erin sits up straight, "No Haven, come back here," she scolded, only for the little girl to continue to take the shakiest steps towards the fire, "Haven."

In seconds Erin stands and runs over, smiling at some of the parents and kids as she grabs her daughter's hand to walk her back. Jay is sitting up straight now, holding a mug that had just been handed to him by Adam.

"We brought you guys over a mug of hot, spiced cider."

Lindsay releases her daughter's hand to grab her cup, "Is it good? I'm a bit cautious when it comes to other people's cider."

"It's delicious," Jay offered; he holds the mug in one hand and reaches for his daughter with the other. He grabs onto her wrist, tugging her over gently, "I'm going to let her try it when it cools off. It was just made and it's really hot." He blew some of the steam off the top.

Occasionally people would stop, smile and compliment Haven on just how cute of a Dorothy she is, even going so far as to praise the stuffed dog in her basket. Haven bounced on her calves as the adults chatted around her, discussing work. It seemed that most conversation always found its way back to their jobs, discussing opened and closed cases, the gossip floating through the station and the new lady in Atwater's life. The cider eventually chilled and Jay gave the baby a sip, but by the look on her face, she didn't enjoy it all. She was uninterested in their conversation and no longer whined for the cider in his hands; her attention averted towards the geese walking around the land, their property, peering at the people like the intruders that they are. Haven was drawn to them just as she was with the ducks, only this time they're closer, boldly walking through the crowd.

"Do you like the geese?" Erin stoops down low beside her, her hand coming to rest upon the small of the baby's back, "Look," she pointed out, "One is looking at you."

Mother and daughter watch the geese, chasing after a few of the kids who bothered them as they minded their business. Eventually, they're joined by Jay; he stoops down low on the opposite side of the baby, hand wrapping around her waist as all three of them peer at the family of geese. Ruzek and Burgess are now seated in their lawn chair, cuddled up, sipping their cider and watching the fire. Haven chuckled, watching the geese go after the children and excitedly wanting to join in, but the grip Jay has on the fabric of her Dorothy dress keeps her in place.

"You're just seeing all types of animals today, huh?"

Haven says nothing in response. She continues to stare at the geese, mouth agape as the animals move away from the children; they're obviously tired of chasing them. By the end of the year, she'll have an endless supply of stuffed animals ranging from the more common ones, such as lions and tigers to the more random ones, such as her donkey and what they'll eventually get her, a duck and a goose. Haven is distracted by the animals, waddling over to the water as a little boy approaches. It seems this is a popular event for kids of all ages. The little boy looks to be dressed as a prince, holding a plucked flower in his hand and extending it towards Haven.

"Isn't that sweet?" Erin watches the little guy set it into her daughter's basket.

"He had been handing them out to all the babies all day," the boy's father informed proudly.

Erin stands, "How old is he?"

"He'll be two next month."

Jay stands up straight next, peering down at the little boy petting the top of her stuffed dog's head, babbling to her as if they're speaking another language. The little boy is so animated, babbling with his hands flying in all directions, occasionally taking a hold of Haven's hand and pulling her into hug her. The quick movement of the little boy pulling their little girl into a hug does send her tumbling to the ground, but Jay simply stands her right back up. She's still a newbie at all of this. With a small chuckle, the father turned his attention to Erin and gave her a slight nod of the head in a gentlemanly way before casting his eyes down towards Haven.

"Your little Dorothy is too cute," he praised, grinning as Haven is lifted into her father's arms; her basket remains on the ground, "and the Toto to match is adorable. How old is she?"

Haven reached towards the man and grabbed for one of the buttons on his shirt before Jay gently retracted her hand, "Ten months; she'll be one in December," he answered. Haven pouted and yawned, turning back into his embrace to rest her head against his shoulder.

Erin cast a look to her husband, "I think it's time we start heading back. She's getting tired."

"And if there's anything I know about tired toddlers, it's that they get cranky," the man responded, sweeping his own son up into his arms.

Burgess and Ruzek decide to stay a little longer to enjoy each other's company while the Halsteads decide to walk back to the house. In one arm Jay held his little girl and in the other, he held the hand of the most amazing woman, the one who had granted him such a gift. And as Haven dozes off in his arms, he enjoys the solitude and the only sound that could be heard is the candy within Haven's swinging basket shifting around.

"Are you tired too?" His voice was a whisper; he doesn't want to startle the baby awake.

"Nope," she responds, "What did you have in mind?"

His runs his thumb across the soft skin of her hand, "Maybe watch a movie, eat some of her candy and heat up some leftovers. I'm hungry."

"Sounds like a plan."

He tugs her in closer, arm wrapping around her shoulders, "Sounds like a date."


	11. Eleven Months

It's Thanksgiving Day. It's the Halsteads' favorite time of the year. It's the day of the three F's: food, family and football. The Halsteads plan to be decked out in jeans and matching Chicago Bears jerseys with the number and last name of Jay's favorite player but as of right now they're in sweats and t-shirts. Every year dinner is at Voight's house and this year is no different, the only change is the addition of little Haven. It's her first Thanksgiving and if she's anything like her parents, she'll grow to enjoy it like them.

There's so much to do in what feels like such little time. Most of it had been done the second Erin woke up, but she still had to get her and the baby ready. Jay was most likely going to need a shower as well since he's been outside for the past hour raking up leaves. Autumn just so happens to be one of her favorite seasons and it's bittersweet that in a few weeks this season will drift away and winter will come. Along with winter, comes Haven's first birthday. In less than a month, in nine days to be more specific, her baby will be a year old. Erin doesn't want to think about it which is hard since she'll have to start planning for a party soon.

She glances down at the eleven month old currently standing on her bare feet with her arms wrapped around Erin's leg. Her face is buried into the fabric of her sweatpants as she attempts to obscure her vision of Bunny. Erin understands. She truly does. She's tried countless times to close her eyes and hide her face in hopes of Bunny disappearing. Lindsay reaches down and rubs her hand soothingly across the top of her daughter's hair, moving her dirty blonde hair in all sorts of directions before she realizes that her mother had been speaking to her this entire time.

"I'm sorry, I zoned out for a second," Erin admits, unashamedly, "what were you saying?"

Bunny's annoyed; her arms are crossed over her chest and she sighs exasperatedly, "I don't understand, Erin, I don't get it," she leans forward to rest her crossed arms against the countertop, "I came over here to celebrate the holiday with you and my grandbaby and you're telling me that I can't. Can you at least tell me why?"

"We're going over to Voight's for dinner."

"Since when did you start doing that?" Bunny stood up straight looking highly offended.

"…since forever."

"And how come I didn't get invited? I am your mother," Bunny snapped, peering over the countertop to see Haven standing on her bare feet, holding onto Erin's pants leg, "Or has he forgotten? This is a holiday for family to come together and be thankful."

"When did you start getting into the holiday spirit?"

Bunny shrugs, walking around the counter to approach her daughter, "I don't know but I am a little hurt that I wasn't invited. What am I supposed to do now?" She opens her arms and extends them towards her granddaughter; Haven pays her no mind.

Erin feels Haven's hold on her pants leg tighten as she attempts to walk towards the refrigerator. The eleven month old has no desire of letting go, especially with Bunny –a semi stranger- in the room, attempting to coax her out of her mother's orbit and into hers. Erin glances down to see Haven wrap both of her small arounds around Erin's entire leg, "How about you do what you do every year? What's the sudden interest in the holiday now?"

"…my granddaughter."

Haven's face nestles itself into the gray fabric of her mother's sweatpants. She whines. She coos. She makes some sort of noise that's a combination between the two. Erin takes another step forward and her daughter moves with her, "Look mom, I'm a little busy. I don't have time for this. Voight is having dinner at his house. If you have a problem with that, take it up with him."

Bunny doesn't argue or even attempt to rebut her daughter's last comment. Instead, she walks out of the room and grabs one of the toys scattered around the living room. With a baby that's a very avid walker and a full time job, cleaning around the house had taken a backseat to being a necessity in the Halsteads' household –at least when it came to the living room. It doubled as a living room and apparently a playroom for the baby. Bunny comes back, holding some sort of toy that plays too much noise; it's Erin and Jay's least favorite toy of Haven's given to her by Burgess. The couple swore that if Burgess and Ruzek ever had a kid, they would get them back. It was a vow, a promise, a pledge to extract the same frustration and annoyance that toy brought upon them onto Kim and Adam. That toy in Bunny's hands was extended towards the baby and instead of convincing her to let go of her mother's leg and walk over, she turned away, burying her face and practically hiding behind Erin's leg.

"It's not that important," Bunny remarked, pressing a button on the toy and smiling when it lit up to start singing a tune, "I'll just go see what Teddy is up to today."

"That sounds like a good idea," Erin whispered, lowering her hand to rest upon the top of her daughter's head. Haven cooed, burying her face further into her mother's leg. She had just woken up from a nap a few minutes before Bunny arrived. She was in the living room, sleeping on the couch and had scampered on into the kitchen the second she was well rested.

Haven whines, looking up at her mother and resting her chin upon Erin's leg. She was being clingy today which was normal, especially when she was uncomfortable. She knew Bunny, but she didn't know her enough to be comfortable around her. And since Jay was outside raking leaves, she had no choice but to cling to her mother. When it came to her need for food, comfort and sleep, she turned to Erin. When it came to her need to play or to feel protected, she turned to Jay, but unfortunately she wasn't able to locate her dad so she sought that protection from her mother. Erin smiled down at her daughter, running her thumb over the small scratch on Haven's cheek she had received from attempting to run down the sidewalk a few days ago, "Sometimes I wish you could speak in full sentences so I know what you're thinking."

"Mama," Haven coos, burying her face back into her mother's pants leg; Erin smiles.

Bunny disappears again and when she returns, she's holding Haven's favorite stuffed donkey and extending it towards her, "Here you go sweetheart," she's bribing her to come over and the eleven month old falls for it this time. Haven stood no chance when offered her stuffed donkey, especially since it was in the hands of someone she barely recognized. She wanted it back. She wanted it protected and in her own hold, "Wise choice you made there, she will never be able to refuse it…at least she won't any time soon."

Haven holds out her arms, trying to take the donkey from her grandmother but it remains out of her reach. She whines; it's borderline a cry and her short legs bounce her body up and down. It was close but not close enough and when the tears started to fall out of her eyes, Erin stood up straighter and crossed her arms, "Mom, give her the damn toy."

"Do you swear in front of your kid?" Bunny hands the baby her donkey. The whining stops.

"Oh please," Erin takes a seat on the floor, back leaning against the cabinets as Haven walks back over, dragging the stuffed animal behind her, "I've heard worse when I was a kid and I turned out pretty great. She'll be fine." She opens her arms and waves for her daughter to walk over; she obliges, grinning as she walks into her mother's hold.

Erin circles her arms around her. The donkey forgotten and released by Haven as Erin draws her daughter in, smearing kisses all over her face and smiling immensely as that innocent, heartfelt and hearty chuckle bubbled from the bottom of her daughter's tummy and out of her mouth. Her little teeth are visible as she throws her head back; Erin blows bubbles into the crook of her daughter's neck, tickling her as the laughter grows louder. Erin herself even finds herself joining in when her daughter's body twists and squirms in an effort to get away; she refuses to let her go, choosing to keep her heart in human form wrapped up in her arms. Erin blows raspberries into her stomach earning wails of bubbling laughter. She continues to squirm, tears coming to her eyes at the sensation of being tickled. That hearty baby chuckle does wonders to Erin's heart and mind and she doesn't want it to stop so she continues, "Erin."

"Mom, I'm a little busy," Erin briefly stops to give her baby a chance to gather her breath.

"You told me to remind you of the time."

Lindsay knew it was drawing closer to the time for them to leave and she still needed to get showered and dressed. She wanted to get a head start, especially knowing that the baby will need a bath and Jay will have to shower too once he comes in from outdoors. Erin sighs dramatically, releasing her daughter out of her arms and watching her as she walks, stumbles a little, to her donkey. Erin hops to her feet and brushes any traces of dirt off her behind, "I'll be right back. Can you watch her while I attempt to make the living room look a little decent?"

Bunny smiled, "Of course."

As Erin disappears to go straighten up the living room, Haven stumbles a little more and falls onto her behind. She doesn't cry. She's too wrapped up in gnawing on the ear of her stuffed donkey. Haven sits on her behind and Bunny watches as her stuffed donkey is dropped from her hands the second her eyes zero in on a penny. The bronze object sparkles under the fluorescent kitchen light catching the short attention span of the eleven month old. She grins, mouth almost completely full of teeth, before rolling over into a crawling position. She bunches her knees up under her chest and pushes down on her chubby hands to rise to her feet, "Mama," she calls out even though her mother was in a different room.

Haven takes the few steps it takes towards the penny before leaning over to pick it up in a two-finger pinch. While normally she would bring it to her mouth to curiously taste it, this time she holds it up in the direction of her grandmother, "No," she coos, earning a chuckle from Erin in the living room, "I don't think she even knows what that means."

Bunny laughs as well as she extends her opened palm towards the baby, "Thank you."

A vacuum cleaner is cut on and the loud noise startles her, sending the baby tumbling to her behind. She's used to falling now. The quick tumble does nothing to scare her and she simply rolls onto her hands and knees and starts crawling in the direction of the door as far away from the living room and the sound of the vacuum suctioning up the mess on the carpeted floor. Haven is crawling at lightning speed; she's practically a professional now when it comes to crawling and Bunny has to move fast just to keep up.

Haven reaches the closed door and pushes herself back up to her feet. She wobbles for a few seconds before glancing at the knob. It's too high for her to reach and she doesn't even attempt it. Smart girl, Bunny silently compliments. She hears something get caught in the vacuum cleaner and the sound startles the kid once again, sending her shoulders up and her lip quivering at the foreign and unknown noise. Bunny kind of feels bad for her…kind of.

"Your dad is outside," Bunny talks to the kid as if she completely understands, "Do you want to go out and join him? That way grandma doesn't have to watch you."

As expected, Haven doesn't answer. She just looks up to meet Bunny's eyes and the expression on her face reminds Bunny of her own daughter. It makes her chuckle. She'll be just like Erin and if that's the case then she definitely has her work cut out for her. Bunny scoops the little girl up into her arms, "Come on then." And almost immediately, Haven starts to cry.

Bunny holds the kid in one arm and grabs her shoes near the door with the other. The vacuum cleaner masks the sound of her wails. She didn't want to be held by her. She hardly knew her. It was one thing for Haven to be in her presence, to hand her something or to be held by her when in the presence of her parents, but it was an entirely different thing when she's holding her now. Her face turns red with each tear lost. Her bottom lip trembles with every cry she lets out. She's looking around, looking for protection, but when nothing comes, she only cries harder. That is, until Bunny sits her down on the dining room table, "Wow kid, really?"

She rolls her eyes at the sound of her granddaughter sniffling. She sighs out of frustration at the sight of Haven continuously looking around as if one of her parents will appear. Erin has never let her watch Haven and she always rejects her when she offers to do so, and at this rate, it looks as if Erin never will. Bunny pats atop the kid's head, "Everything is fine."

Bunny cannot remember the last time she put shoes onto the feet of a baby. It had to be with Teddy over twenty years ago. She slid one boot onto Haven's foot before sliding on the other, shrugging her shoulders as she ignored the idea of putting socks on her first. Bunny lifts her off the table to set her back down onto her feet, holding her hand next and then taking the smallest steps to walk alongside her towards the front door. She felt like a grandmother, a true grandmother, even as she grabbed the baby's jacket off the coatrack and draped it over the little girl's shoulders before struggling to pull her arms through. It seems she wanted to make things a bit difficult, just like her mother. Bunny smiled.

"Alright Haven," Bunny grinned and leaned forward to press a kiss against her forehead, "are you ready to go outside?" She doesn't wait or expect a reply; she just opens the front door and carefully helps the baby step down the porch stairs.

It was chilly. It was only going to grow colder in the oncoming days. Bunny saw the back of Jay's head as he raked leaves into a pile and she knew that Haven was in the best hands. She needed to go back inside. She needed warmth. She walked back to the front door, leaving Haven on the sidewalk; legs spread open and bent as she tried to maintain her balance. She hadn't been walking long, sometimes she needed time and support. Haven watched Bunny walk away and when the older woman waved, Haven looked away, glancing over at the pretty flowers that would start to die soon. Bunny returns to the house, closing the door behind her to ensure that none of the heat from inside was let out.

"I straightened up the living room as best as I could," Erin informed, grabbing a bottle of water and unscrewing the cap, "It'll only get messy again."

"Yeah, it's definitely hard to maintain a clean house with little kids roaming around."

"Speaking of little kids," Erin peered over the center island in search of her own, "where's mine?" She walks around the counter in search of Haven but when Bunny points towards the front door, she gets her answer, "She's outside?"

"Yeah," Bunny nods.

Erin grows wary; it's obvious she doesn't trust her mother, "Did you put her coat on?"

"I did."

"What about her boots?"

"I did."

"Does Jay know she's out there?"

Bunny nods, "Well, I assume so…"

That translates to no.

Erin leaves her water bottle on the counter with the cap resting beside it as she does a light jog towards the front door. She throws it open and leans against the screen, "Jay!"

Her husband jumps, obviously taken by surprise, "Yeah?"

Lindsay's answer is a silent point of the finger, nodding towards the baby standing in the middle of the grass. His brows furrow and it's safe to say that he didn't know she was out there. When is her mother going to learn? When will common sense set in? It doesn't matter if Jay's outside with Haven if he had no idea she was joining him. He didn't know to look after her. He assumed she was still in the house. But, today was a good day. There was no harm done and in an hour or two, Erin will be over Voight's house stuffing her face with all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Erin shuts the door just as she hears her husband call out for their daughter, "I'm about to take my shower," Lindsay informs her mother, "next time either ask me or Jay can she go outside or let him know that she's joining him. Don't make assumptions."

"I…I uh," Bunny stumbles over her words as her daughter disappears upstairs. She's left alone in the kitchen while Erin showers upstairs and Haven bonds with her father.

To distract herself, she ventures over to the bay window at the front of the house, drawing the curtains open to look outside. The trees are bare, having lost all of their colorful leaves the second fall set in and now that the season is coming to a close, it left behind naked branches. Bunny cracks open the window to listen to the dialogue of father and daughter as she watches in envy, wishing if only she could reverse time or change her current habits to be better. But, she wasn't so lucky and strong. Change wouldn't come so easily and she honestly didn't think she wanted to put up the effort. She's spent decades like this, why change now? It's no point. Her deeds have already been done. And people don't forgive so easily.

Since Erin had alerted Jay of Haven's presence, he had spent the time calling for her to come over instead of focusing on the last pile of leaves he needed to bag up. He had called her for the fourth time, "Haven," he's holding up the rake and he waves for her to walk over the second she looks over her shoulder and takes him in, "Come here."

Once again, she doesn't come.

He releases the rake and takes advantage of her eyes watching it drop, using her distraction to approach. Knowing her, she'll think this is a game and start trying to run, or in her case, waddle and stumble away. Once the rake lands, her eyes avert over to her dad and she grins as she watches him come, "Haven no," there's sternness in his voice; one she is unfamiliar with and doesn't understand.

The little girl turns on her heels and starts to stumble away at a fast pace for someone of her age and her size. With the mailbox as her destination, she holds out her short, chubby arms and starts stumbling towards it at a speed that will ensure an inevitable fall the second she comes to a stop. She's on the grass so her falling over isn't his first concern. The street that connects to the mailbox definitely is. She's giggling as she continues to stumble, her feet turning inwards as she closes in on her destination, and just as she's about to reach the mailbox, he clamps his hand around her arm and snatches her back a little rougher than he intended, "No Haven!"

Honestly, he didn't expect a giggle, especially when she fell backwards, but he surely did not complain when he got one. The same hand that grabbed her arm wrapped itself around her stomach as he used his strength to lift her up. He flushed her back against his chest and smeared a kiss to the side of her head as he carried her over to the pile of raked leaves. He sets her back down on her feet and motions for her to stay put. He keeps an eye on her as he reaches for the rake, "Why did your mother let you outside?"

Haven stood, bundled up, watching as her father continued to rake leaves. Her little hands were in her pockets and she just appeared as a little adult with a pensive look on her face. Her lips were twisted, her head was tilted and her brows furrowed as she observed him raking the last few leaves into a pile. He takes in her little face, smirking at her expression, "Alright Havie," he tosses the rake over to the side, "grab some up."

She tilts her head in the opposite direction.

Jay smiles even harder, stooping down and scooping as many leaves in his hands as possible. He raises them above her head and releases them, laughing just as she starts to giggle. She steps forward ungracefully and leans over to collect as many as she can hold –a much smaller amount than he had. She doesn't stand back up and Jay chalks that up to her knowing her limits, her believing or actually knowing that if she stood up with her arms full of leaves, she'll fall over.

"Now let them go…" Haven drops them and immediately starts to clap her hands, "Go Havie," she stands back up, "Now watch this."

He lifts her up and sets her back down onto her feet a few feet away from the pile. She remains in the spot as he lifts the rake back up to rake the leaves back into a large pile, "Okay," he tosses the rake far away and turns his back to the leaves, "Look," he opens his arms and falls back, landing in the leaves and looking up just as they fly into the air and slowly drift their way back down. Jay sits up, face flushed red from the fall; his legs are spread and he raises his arms to gesture her over, "Come here," she doesn't move, "Come here Havie," she still doesn't move and he tries once again, "Come on, it's your turn."

Once she approaches he scoops her up, settling her against his hip as he uses his free hand to grab the rake, "Alright, this is the plan," he talks to her as if she completely understands, "we're going to gather the leaves back up and fall into them."

With one hand he carefully rakes the leaves into a nice sizeable pile to ensure that when she did fall back there would be enough leaves to cushion and secure her fall. Once he finishes, he tosses the rake off to the side, far away from her hands before setting her back down on the ground; he takes her hand, securing his large one around her smaller one, "Let's do this together," he guides her closer to the leaves, turning them around so they're facing the house instead of the pile, "on the count of three: one, two," and by three, he goes back first, gently pulling her along with him.

She might not have laughed when he did it by himself, but she definitely laughed this time. Her giggles are high-pitched; her legs are in the air, kicking wildly as her hands overlap above her tummy. Halstead lifts his head and rests his head upon his hand to peer down at her. Her laugh is infectious. It reminds him of the baby laughing videos online that shows young children laughing at some of the most insignificant things. It's joyous. Her cheeks are flushed either from the fall or the cold temperature outside. She's squirming and practically covered by the pile of leaves but she doesn't whine or whimper. His little girl, eleven months old, and growing at an exceeding rate that he's not okay with…she's coming into her own, developing a personality and moods that go beyond happy and sad. She's almost a toddler, a full year, a one year old and even though he has less than a month to be okay with it, he doesn't see himself coming to terms. He's not fine with it and he doesn't think he'll ever be okay.

Haven rolls over onto her belly, continuously laughing at the fall and lifting her head up to look at him. He wants her to slow down. She has no control over it, no one does, but he wants her to stop, to pause time and stay this size and age forever. He reaches out, running his hand over her head, down her back before resting it on her behind, feeling the fluffy diaper through the pants she's wearing, "Jay!"

Both he and Haven looked over towards the door, and if it was possible for his heart to grow bigger at the sight of his daughter smiling at her mother, his wife, the woman who gave him her then his heart would outgrow his body, "I just finished my shower! It's time to come on in."

"You might as well get used to this kid," he sat up and pulled the baby into his arms, "this won't be the first time your mom ruins our fun earlier than we expected."

"Funny," she sarcastically replies, "now come on, you need to bathe and she definitely needs a bath. Were you guys jumping around in the leaves?"

"Yes and we don't regret it one bit," he rises to his feet and scoops her back up into his arms, "you can join us the next time we do this."

She averts her eyes from the leaves to her family, "I'll take your word on that."

Erin shuts the door after her husband and daughter enter back into the house, "There's three bags of leaves ready to be picked up tomorrow, what about the last pile? The one you and the little one had fun messing around in?"

"Take her," he sighs, remembering the last of his duty, "It shouldn't take me long. I'll just rake them back up, toss them into the bag, tie it up and put all the bags on the curb."

Haven leans towards her mother when she opens up her arms, "Thank you," Erin leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, "I'll take this one upstairs to get clean."

Just as his wife starts to pull off their daughter's shoes and take off her coat, he departs from their house to do his task for the evening. It doesn't take him that long. By the time he finishes, Erin threw a large shirt on over her jersey to ensure her clothes didn't get wet and Haven was already in the tub. When he ventures upstairs to take his own shower, he pops his head into the hallway bathroom, watching Haven splash the water around, Erin rinse the soap off her body and Bunny leaning against the bathroom sink, silently watching mother and daughter interact. Haven notices him first, providing him with a cheeky grin as she continues to splash the water, "Dada!"

"That never gets old," he whispers, waving at her before continuing down the hall to the master bedroom.

Haven's giggles echo down the hallway. They're loud enough for him to even hear as he showers in the master bathroom. Erin laughs along with her while washing out the last of the baby shampoo scrubbed into her hair, "Does that tickle?"

Once the few inches of water start to turn cool and a little dirty from the outside play Haven participated in earlier, Erin figured bath time was over. She pulled the stopper out of the drain and watched as Haven's wide eyes witnessed the water disappearing.

"Mom," Bunny snaps out whatever fantasy she was just in to look over at her daughter, "can you open up her towel and hand it to me?"

It's the least Bunny could do. It's not difficult. It's finally something –no matter how small- she was able to get right. Erin gives her a small smile and uses the towel to lift her daughter out of the tub, wrapping the cloth securely around her to keep her body temperature up. She used the hood of the towel to cover her head, drying off her soft curls and earning another laugh from the baby since the towel partially covered her face. Erin lifted it up to look into her eyes better, "Hey! There you go," she drops it again and it covers the baby's eyes once more, "Havie, you disappeared. Where'd you go?" She lifts it once more as she carried her out of the bathroom, "I found you! There you go!"

Bathing was the hardest part. Getting her dressed was easy in comparison to washing her. Haven enjoyed lying on her back, looking up into the eyes of whoever was the lucky person to hover above her. She really enjoyed being naked but the slight chill in the air caused for her to put up no fight as her mother rubbed lotion into her soft skin, strapped a clean diaper on and slid a pair of leggings onto her chubby legs. Haven kicked her feet, "Hey!" She missed her mother's face by an inch, "Don't make me have to hold your legs down you little monster." Haven giggled, kicking her legs again, basically calling her mother's bluff.

By the time Jay reentered the room, dressed in a jersey, jeans and some comfortable sneakers, Haven was all set and ready to go. After the jersey was pulled over her head and her arms were guided through the sleeves, Erin had lifted her from the changing table over to the rocking chair. She sat the baby between her legs, parted her short hair and threw what she could into two adorable little pigtails. It framed her adorable face. And Bunny kept her entertained through the whole, boring process of getting your hair done.

"Aren't you just the cutest, pig-tailed, almost one-year old I know?" Jay crouched down in front of her before pressing his lips against the dimple in her cheek.

"Babe, can you put her socks and shoes on?"

He was forced to tear his lips and eyes away from his daughter to briefly venture over to her dresser, grab a pair of socks before going to her closet to grab a pair of shoes, "Any particular kind of shoes you want her to wear?"

"…um," Erin taps her chin as she gently rocks her and the baby in the chair, "the boots."

Jay silently grabbed the first pair of boots he saw and when his wife didn't argue the color, he called that a victory, silently patting himself on the back before sliding the socks and shoes onto the baby's feet. Her little toes wiggling and not trying to be good sports as he struggled earnestly to put them on, "Kid…" he sighed, looking up to meet her bright, hazel eyes. It distracted her long enough for him to slide both shoes on her feet.

"She hates shoes and socks, I wonder how long they'll stay on," Erin whispered, tightening her grip around her daughter as she pushed herself up onto her feet, "We should be getting ready to leave. I stocked up her diaper bag and put it by the door before I called you inside. I just need to grab the dessert out of the fridge, put my shoes and coat on, bundle her up and then we can actually leave. It sounds like a lot but it'll only take like five minutes."

"Let's knock that time in half," he responded, opening his arms up for his daughter.

She leaned towards his embrace, "Dada," and he smiled.

"I'll put her coat on," Jay said as he left the nursery.

Haven was rested on his chest and shoulder. His arm held and was draped against the baby's bottom while his opposite hand supported the back of her head and neck. Haven was perched over his shoulder, smiling and slowly testing out a wave to her mom as they left the room. Erin followed closely behind, waving back and keeping her eyes focused on them, her little family, her pride and joy and the man that made all of this possible. Erin also took advantage of the baby's eyes on her; she contorted her expression, changing her normal face into one of a silly expression and shape. She crossed her eyes at one point, she stuck out her tongue afterwards and by the third face change, consisting of her poking out her lips, the baby had cackled out a loud laugh, startling Jay and causing him to cover his ear, "Ouch!"

"Sorry," Erin apologized, dropping the funny face.

"That's alright, I just need a little heads up next time."

As Erin temporarily disappeared into the kitchen, he went over by the door, setting Haven down on her feet beside her diaper bag. Bunny had followed and her silent presence had almost made him forget she was even here. It seems she's learned the one way not to get on any of their nerves and that's to be quiet and to make it appear as if she's not present. It was a few years too late, but it's definitely better late than never. He watched her approach the baby as he searched through the many coats on the rack, trying to find her thicker coat since it's much later than it had been when she was outside earlier, "I figure it's time for me to go," his shoulders stiffen at her words. Erin may be trying to give her mother another chance that to him, she honestly doesn't deserve, but it doesn't mean he's going to allow it with his guard down. It's not just Erin now, it's Haven too and he had every right in the matter of her.

Bunny steps closer and he feels Haven grab onto his leg, either for support of balance, because she's acting shy or out of a need for protection from a woman she doesn't know that well. She buried her face into the fabric of his jeans and when he glanced down at her, he saw that she was looking up at him, pouting as if she's frustrated at him for not reading her mind. Bunny stepped even closer and carefully lowered herself onto her knees, "Hi Haven," she opened her arms up, "Can grandma get a hug goodbye?"

Haven doesn't move. Jay couldn't help himself but to be proud of that. Her hard grip on his jeans tightened until Bunny leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the side of her head, "She needs to see me more. That way she'll be able to get used to me."

He hoped not.

Jay finally found her coat and pulled it off the rack. He put his coat on first before turning to do the same to her. He pried her hand away from his jeans to guide her arms through the sleeves of the puffy coat. He stoops down, lowering himself to become somewhat eye leveled with his daughter as he struggles with the zipper. It had gotten caught in the fabric of her jersey. Meeting his daughter's eyes and smiling as he watched her own grin stretch across her face has his heart aflutter. That smile of hers does something to him. His love for her grows if that's even possible. His protectiveness for her expands. He wants to wrap her into his arms, make a deal with whatever force is out there to ensure she's this size for the rest of her life and safe from anyone who is stupid enough to pose her any harm. He's physically frozen, his hand gripping the zipper but no longer trying to detach the fabric from the zip.

"Babe, what are you doing?"

His wife's interruption breaks him from his thoughts. He blinks back into focus and manages to zip the coat up before swiftly lifting her up into his arms. Her neon green, fluffy, marshmallow type coat makes her hot and uncomfortable. She starts to fret. And she eventually starts to whine when her mother pulls a hat onto her head, wraps a scarf around her neck and slides gloves onto her hands. She's a tad bit over bundled up but the temperature is expected to drop at some point in the night and the last thing either of them wanted was a freezing baby who caught a cold.

"Mama," she whines, turning her head away from Erin to bury it into the crook of his neck.

He absolutely adored her when she did this. He felt like her hero, her protector, the one she turned to when she needed comforting. Normally it's Erin, but when Erin is the one causing her distress, it's him. And he has no complaints about it.

"What is mama doing?" Jay rubs his hand up and down the fluffy material of her coat.

Her vocabulary consists of a few select words. And none of those words could possibly answer his question. Haven just sniffled and pulled the hat off her head only for Erin to take it from her and slide it back on, "Come on, let's go before she takes it off again."

Jay watches as his wife puts on her coat, grabs the diaper bag and lifts up the –store bought- dessert his wife purchased for Thanksgiving dinner before leading them all out the door. Bunny is the last to follow, dragging her feet as if they'll change their mind and invite her to dinner. It doesn't work. It's unsuccessful. If anything, it reminds them about why they don't want her there in the first place. Erin has one kid, a baby who borderline is turning into a toddler; she doesn't need or desire to take care of an adult who acts like a kid. Bunny continues to drag her feet, following behind Jay and Haven as Erin stands at the door to lock both the bottom and top locks.

"Bye Haven," Bunny calls out and waves; she watches the little girl being carried protectively in her dad's arms. Her head rest against his shoulder, facing outward to glance at her surroundings. She only looks up when she hears her name called and even though her vocabulary isn't perfect and always clear, her gestures are. Haven quietly lifts her hand, folds in her fingers before opening them back up to mimic the act of waving goodbye.

"I'll talk to you later, Bunny," Erin waves nonchalantly towards her mother as they head in two different directions. It's just another reminder for both about how testy and unstable their relationship is. And it's also another reminder for Erin about the things she does not want for her daughter, about the relationship she wants to avoid having with her kid and the acts she could take in order to evade it.

Haven grew fussy on their short walk to the car. Being a baby, borderline turning into a toddler has her cranky a lot of the time. She squirms in her dad's embrace, trying everything in her small power to get out of his arms. He chuckles and presses a kiss against her dirty blonde hair, the same hair that Erin somehow managed to pull into two pigtails, "Alright Havie," he chuckles setting her down onto her wobbly feet, "you want to walk, walk."

The baby isn't that great at walking. She's still new to the whole experience and while she regularly falls, wobbles, bounces or tumbles over, she finds herself not giving up, wanting to push herself until she's perfected the walk. And since the house is babyproofed, her parents afford her the freedom to practice. Being outside though is a different story. Jay has her on her feet, but he's standing extremely close behind her, his knees practically brush up against her fluffy coat. Her little feet walk as he leads her from behind. He's holding both of her hands and carefully steering her in the direction of the car, taking the tiniest steps to ensure she didn't fall over, "Look at you go! That's my girl!"

"Just be careful," the worrier in Erin that came out the second her daughter was born made its appearance; she was practically on Jay's heel, scrunching her face up as he walked their daughter down the driveway. Her shoulders tensed every second Haven stumbled over her own two feet, only avoiding what would have been an inevitable fall because Jay is behind her, holding both of her hands in his.

Just as they reach the car, Jay scoops her up, lifting her high above his head and laughing as her high-pitched squeals filled the silent evening. Erin unlocked the door, opening one door for Jay before jogging over to the side and opening the other, "I'll drive there, you can drive back."

"It's a plan," he leaned in and set his daughter into her car seat, maneuvering the straps around until she's buckled in, "We're almost done," he feels his daughter's hands reach out and grab upon the stubble around his face, "Ouch," he leans his head as far away from her as possible as he tightens the harness of her car seat.

By the time he finishes, Erin is already in the driver's seat, buckled up and starting the car. He gives his daughter a farewell wave before shutting the door.

"Now that we have a chance to talk without worrying about the little nugget, we should discuss what we want to do for her first birthday," Erin says as Jay slides into the passenger seat.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking we can do something small," she backs the car out of their driveway, "I mean…she's turning one. She won't remember this birthday, but I figured we could invite Voight, the team, your brother, Natalie, Annie and Travis, maybe Emily and her kids too and decorate the living room because it'll probably be freezing outside. Oh, and we have to get a cake, maybe two because I definitely want a cake for her to just go to town in, you know? Like throw her face and hands in and just have a really good time with that. But, I also want a cake to eat because I love dessert and you do too."

"I like that idea," Jay nods, leaning his head against the window, "We can probably throw in some activities that she enjoys to do, maybe some dancing, finger painting and stuff like that."

"Finger painting, you want a one year old to finger paint in our living room?"

Jay considers this, envisioning all of the ways it could go wrong, "Yeah, say no more, maybe when she gets older. I just know Emily mentions she just started finger painting with her."

"Yeah, well Emily has a playroom designed to get messy."

"Duly noted, we'll just let that be a daycare activity."

Thanksgiving Day traffic wasn't as bad as one would have assumed. Most people were already at their destination so the roads only held a few cars every other mile. By the time they reached Voight's house, practically no one was outside on the streets. Cars were parallel parked along his street and even though they made great time in reaching his home, it took even longer to find a parking spot. Erin ended up parking a few houses down from his.

"Alright partner," she turned the car off, "I get the baby."

"And I'll get everything else," he nodded affirmatively.

As done many times before in the last year, they divided their tasks and conquered. Erin unstrapped the baby from her car seat while Jay balanced the dessert in one hand while throwing the strap of the diaper bag over his shoulder. This was a routine for them. She normally drove to their location and he would drive them home. Sometimes she would carry the baby and sometimes he would; it all depended really on the mood. And apparently it's Haven's mood they're appeasing today since she doesn't seem to want to be picked up. She squirms and whines until Erin gives in and sets her down on her feet, "Fine, you want to walk? Walk."

Haven stands on the sidewalk, both of her parents behind her and patiently waiting for her to take a step. Since she started walking, it seems that has become her preferred method of transportation. Emily warned Erin that when Haven reaches toddler age, she'll start to want to take charge and explore the world and her surroundings. It seems toddlerhood came a few months earlier than expected.

"We're right behind you," Jay encouraged, smiling when his daughter looks over her shoulder to grin at him, "Lead the way."

The baby may not have understood but she moved as if she did. She started walking –or waddling- whatever you want to call the walk that babies at her age do. Occasionally she looks back to ensure they're following behind, and like Jay said, they are directly behind her, only a step away to guide her in the right direction. Like now…when Haven notices a decorated mailbox on the lawn at the edge of someone's property. The painted butterflies draw in her attention and she reaches out towards them, switching direction as her feet steered her towards the street, "Oh no you don't," Erin reprimands, practically lunging forward to grab her wrist –a little too roughly- to guide her back on course, "This is the way we go."

Haven was steered past the mailbox and towards the next house –Voight's home. Erin held her hand the entire time, especially up the driveway since it's a small hill that would most likely either tire her little legs out or have her falling. By the time they reached Voight's front door, Haven was back in her mother's arms, this time with little protest. Tonight will definitely tire her out; it shouldn't take much to put her to bed later.

"Are you going to let us in?" Jay readjusted the dessert in his arms and the bag on his shoulder.

"I uh," Erin pats her pockets, "I think I forgot the keys at home."

"Fortunately there's a house full of people who would happily open the door," he grins, reaching out for Haven's hand to guide it towards the door, "Would you do the honor?"

Erin pressed a kiss against the side of her daughter's head as she took it upon herself to close her daughter's hand in order to make a fist, "Knock," she directed, hitting the door with her own fist to show her what to do, "Give it a try."

If they had to depend on Haven's knock to alert the household of their arrival, they would never be granted entrance. The brush of her tiny knuckles against the door was comedic at best. It barely made a noise as she practically rubbed her fist against the wood.

"Here's something a little easier," Erin whispered, taking her daughter's hand to guide it towards the doorbell.

When the little button emitted a chime, Haven pressed it again and again and again until Erin set her back down onto her feet. She loved to mimic. It was one of her favorite things to do especially when the results were instant. The act of pushing a button and hearing a noise as a response had her bursting with joy. The little smile on her face with her dimples appearing and all were absolutely infectious. Both of their eyes were drawn and focused on their daughter's smile that they didn't even notice Danny opening the front door, "Happy Thanksgiving!"

It pulled their attention away from their daughter and they returned the greeting.

"Danny," Olive hollered from a few feet behind him, "What did I tell you about answering the door without an adult present? It's dangerous!"

"It's just Aunt Erin, Uncle Jay and Havie," he grumbled, reaching forward to take a hold of Haven's hand. Like the big and protective cousin he vowed to be, he helped her step up the one stair in order to enter the house.

"I don't care who it is Danny," Olive sighed, smiling thankfully when Jay hands her the dessert, "and Happy Thanksgiving guys. I believe you two are the last to show so dinner will probably be served in a few minutes."

A day for family, to provide thanks and to be grateful provided Voight's house with a love and warmth that only came once a year. It wasn't about the turkey or the stuffing or the pumpkin pie or the many other delicious, traditional dishes served. All of that is great; it's like the icing on top of a cake because thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without it. But, this federally recognized holiday is about so much more; it's family, food, football. It's being with each other, being thankful for each other, being grateful for your home, your loved ones, your job, the food you eat and all of the little to huge things that encompass your life. It's a holiday where you can relax; take a break from work and chores to just take a breather, sit back and celebrate.

It's why everyone who could come out was at Voight's house. Voight was in the kitchen finishing off the remainder of the food dishes, Danny was impatiently waiting for Erin to finish unzipping Haven's coat, and Will and Olinsky were in the living room watching the football game. This year Natalie couldn't make it; she took Owen to visit his birth father's side of the family for the holidays. She rotates every year and this year it was their time to be with the paternal side of her son's life.

"Hey Erin, hey Jay," a familiar voice greeted as the sergeant entered the foyer.

"Olivia," Lindsay replied, stooping low to finish working the zipper on her daughter's coat, "I didn't know you were going to be here."

"I'm actually here in Chicago for a case and Hank invited me over for dinner when he found out that I wouldn't be home for the holidays."

"Well I'm glad he did," Jay responded, easing towards the living room. He was dressed for the game and he intended to watch as much of it as possible.

"I'm glad he did too," Olivia sighed, stooping low to be eyelevel with Haven as Erin finally managed to get her coat off, "I'm really glad because I finally get to meet your little one."

"This little one is growing up pretty fast," Erin whispered, smirking as Haven grabbed onto her leg to bashfully hide her face from Olivia, "you'll have to excuse her, she's a little shy."

"Understandable," Olivia stands up straight, "I'm a stranger. She doesn't know me. I know I'm almost a year late, but congratulations on the baby. I saw her picture on Voight's desk when I stopped by for a visit. It seems he has fallen into his grandfatherly duties quite well."

"Yes, she's the apple of his eye," Erin laughs, watching in her peripheral as Danny finally takes a hold of his little cousin's hand to pull her away, excitedly gushing to her about his toys that he wants to teach her how to play. Lindsay honestly didn't know how much fun Haven would be since the little boy normally grew frustrated with her because she didn't understand the rules of the many games he has tried to teach her over the last few months.

The toys usually ended up thrown feet away from her or inside of her mouth. She wasn't his age, she didn't know how to partake in structured play with rules and guidelines. He attempted to teach her, but it never worked out and it always ended with her nephew frustrated and pulling all his toys from her hold. She just wanted to hold, squeeze and bang things together. And that's all.

"Make sure you stay where someone can supervise," Olive hollered before carrying the dessert into the kitchen. Danny gave his mother a thumb up to let her know he's heard her as he leads Haven into the living room containing three adult men who will most likely pay more attention to the game on the television than the two kids in need of adult supervision.

Erin gives Olivia a hug before excusing herself to the kitchen to join Voight in whatever help he may need. She pokes her head into the kitchen, being mindful not to disturb Hank while he's in the zone. Watching him plate the dishes reminds her of her youth, to a simpler time, a time that involved Camille cooking alongside her husband and Justin keeping track of the football scores as his parents cook and she organizes the dining room table. It was a memory that she thought about every year, one that always left an ache in her heart to know that her memories involving them will no longer expand. She'll never have memories of Haven with Justin or her with Camille; she's constricted to a certain amount of recollections that will never grow.

"Hey," Voight unties the apron from around his waist, "I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah, sorry, I just didn't want to disturb you."

"Nonsense," he tosses the oven mitts over onto the counter, "where were you just now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I looked over and you were here but you were not here at the same time if that makes sense."

It made total sense.

She nodded, walking further into the kitchen, "I was just thinking about Camille and Justin. This was her favorite time of the year. It even came before Christmas for her."

"You know she would be proud of you," he reassured, lifting one of the dishes to hand to her, "and I know for a fact that she would be proud of how you are with Haven. You're such a good mother," she grew a little teary-eyed and since both of her hands were full, she couldn't wipe them, "I don't think I could be more proud either."

Even with the pan situated in her hands, he manages to envelope her into a hug. She holds the pan against her side, moving it from between them as she wraps her free arm around him, "Happy Thanksgiving, Hank."

"Same to you, Erin. Come on, let's set the table."

As each warm dish of food was organized on the table cloth and each placemat was situated, laughter and applause could be heard from the living room. Both knew it had nothing to do with the game. That usually earned shouts and curse words. Voight went to fetch Danny's old high chair while Erin ventured off into the living room to collect everyone for dinner. She made the short trek from the dining room to find the television on but the attention of everyone in the room on her daughter. Haven was basking in it, enjoying the devotion and adoration.

Haven was standing, bouncing up and down to the tune playing during a commercial on television. Olive was recording her, laughing along as Olivia clapped in encouragement. A bottle sat near her feet; Jay must have given her one to hold her over until it was time to eat. Haven continued to bounce and clap her hands even after the commercial ended. She picked up her speed, smiling as Will cheered her on. Erin laughs, reaching over to pick up Haven's bottle from where she's dropped it on the floor. Her chubby legs held her up as she bent over from the waist, little palms on the floor as she continued to do the one dance move she was capable of doing. A round of applause filled the living room the second Haven stopped dancing, "That was perfect timing little one," Erin walked over to pick her up, "because it's time to eat."

"Finally," a chorus of cheers rang out.

Jay rose to his feet and waited for his wife to walk over, "I must say, I do believe Haven gets her dance moves from you. You two have the same sense of rhythm."

"You're funny," she sarcastically replied, "but if you ask me, I say she gets it all from you."

"The speed in which that bounce of hers was going, I don't think I can argue with that."

A genuine smile graces her face followed by a small chuckle. Erin's smile softened and she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, "You're such a good dad and husband. I don't think I tell you this enough but we're lucky to have you in our lives."

"And I'm lucky to have the two of you," he leads the kiss this time, pecking her lips quickly before following them into the dining room.

"Are you ready to eat actual food, Havie?"

Haven cheered, clapping her hands as she's carried into the dining room. Everyone is already surrounding the table, the food is organized in the center and hands are held out, waiting to be held. There's a highchair between two empty seats designated for she and Jay. Haven is seated inside and her parents take the hands of those beside them.

"I was thinking we can go around and say what we're thankful for before eating," it was Olive's suggestion; it was something they started doing after Justin passed away.

And most of the statements made were the usual. Everyone was thankful for their health, their family, their jobs, their friends, the food and as Danny so kindly added his toys. Once the last bit of thanks was given, everyone took a seat and immediately started making their plates. They didn't want the food to get cold and as they filled their plates with food, conversation filled the table. Erin passed the mashed potatoes to Jay for him to scoop a spoonful onto Haven's plate just as Hank did the honors of cutting the turkey.

"Can you pass the gravy, Will?"

Jay's brother nodded and handed it over to Olivia. Olive filled their wine glasses as she warned her son to be a bit more careful when scooping collard greens onto his plate. She continuously had to tell him to make sure it gets on the plate and not the table cloth. A tiny bit of every soft dish at the table was put on Haven's plate just to give her a taste of what this holiday has to offer, "Want to try and use a spoon?"

Her rhetorical question is left unanswered as Erin holds out a plastic green baby spoon towards her. It's grabbed by her right hand and she uses it to tap into her food, finding it to be more of a toy than an actual tool to feed herself.

Jay smirked, sliding the spoon from her hand, "Let me see," he scoops up a little bit of stuffing and airplanes it towards her mouth, "Say aah," she doesn't but she does in fact open her mouth.

The food makes a smooth landing and as she chews her parents use the opportunity to either finish making their plates or feed themselves. Haven watches her mom use a spoon to scoop mashed potatoes and gravy into her mouth; she averts her eyes from the silver spoon in Erin's hand to the green plastic spoon on her high chair. She lifts it up, taps it once again in her food and brings it towards her mouth. It misses. Horribly. The mashed potatoes lands on the side of her face while the gravy drips down her nose.

"I don't think the spoon was such a good idea," Will laughed, sliding his phone out to take a picture of his niece.

Haven didn't seem to mind. She kept the spoon in her hand and attempted again. Unsurprisingly, she missed her mouth completely. The stuffing landed in her hair and Erin had to stop eating to pull out the bits and pieces of food from the strands of her daughter's hair. Jay takes the spoon from her hands the second a small piece of turkey lands on his lap. It seems to be safer –and maybe cleaner- to feed her themselves. The second Erin is done cleaning the stuffing from her hair, Jay feeds her a spoonful of collard greens.

By the kicking of her feet and her clapping hands, she loves them. She does not wait to be fed another bite, she reaches for the greens on her plate and attempts to feed herself. A drop gets into her mouth while majority of it falls onto her lap.

"I don't think I'll ever eat if I keep cleaning you up," Erin said, turning back to resume eating her own food, "I'll just clean you up once we're all done eating."

"So Erin…" it's Olivia that calls her, "where does Haven go while you and Jay are working?"

"She stays with Emily; she's educated in child development and early childhood. She watches one other kid too, but Haven is the youngest one," Erin answers.

Jay takes a sip of his drink before adding, "And Emily talks to her in another language. Yesterday when Erin and I went to pick Haven up, Emily told her to put one of the toys away in German and she did just that. If Emily keeps it up, she'll be bilingual. She says the younger kids are, the easier it is for them to learn a new language." Erin nods along in agreement.

Thanksgiving dinner conversation continued. Topics such as politics, investigations, television shows and the recent developments in each other's lives filled the table. Will was in the middle of a joke he heard at work when Haven throws a piece of turkey off her high table.

"No, no," Jay scolds, waving for Will to continue as he cleans up the discarded turkey.

Erin helps Haven finish the remainder of her meal as good conversation and heartfelt laughs filled the dining room. It was good to see the daily stresses that have impacted everyone's lives fade away. If only for this one night, it was a relief to see. Once Haven finished, Erin digs into the diaper bag and withdraws a few napkins to wipe the gravy from around her daughter's hands and mouth, "Aunt Erin," at the sound of Danny calling her name from across the table, she looks up, answering his call with a curious look, "for the rest of my break my mom is going to let me stay with grandpa. Do you think we can hang out one day?"

She's using the wet wipe to clean off her daughter's sticky fingers, "Of course bud," she wipes the cloth over the baby's mouth, clearing the surrounding area of the food that unfortunately didn't make it past her lips, "I think that'll be a great idea. Maybe we can hit up the batting cages or go see a movie? We can plan a day if you'd like?"

"Can I plan it? Please? Pretty please…" Danny is practically bouncing up and down in his seat until his mother reaches over to place her hand against his shoulder, giving him a look that clearly reads for him to calm down and be still.

"I think that'll be fine."

He pounded his fist in the air, "Yes!"

Once the baby's hands and mouth are wiped clean, Erin pulls the baby into her arms, setting the little girl facing her on her lap as she listens into the conversation, "I love my Chicago Bears don't get me wrong, I just don't think they'll make it to the SuperBowl."

"I thought you were a loyal fan," Erin chimed in, glancing down to watch Haven play with the necklace around her neck, "if you're as loyal and dedicated to your team, they deserve a little faith." The charm of her necklace falls between her breast as Haven continues to lift and drop it over and over and over again. It keeps her occupied so Erin doesn't mind in the slightest.

"I am a loyal fan, but I'm also being realistic here," Jay defends, earning a few chuckles around the table, "I'll still root for them throughout the rest of the season but I'm not setting myself up for disappointment that could have been avoided."

"And you claim to be a diehard fan," Olive chuckled.

"It was his idea for us to wear matching jerseys," Erin added, smiling down at her little one situated on her lap, wrapped in her arms, "he said it would give his team good luck today."

"Why would they need good luck if you aren't expecting them to win?" Olivia is now joining in on the teasing. All Jay can do is look over towards the guys, half expecting them to jump in.

Erin briefly left the conversation just as Will jumped in on his brother's behalf. She left the debate in the hands of Olive and Olivia when her daughter started babbling in her lap. Haven's chest leans and rests against her mother's chest, her little chubby hands continue to play with her necklace and Erin only intervenes when she makes a move to put the charm inside her mouth.

"No, no," she said, smiling softly at Haven as she reaches up to trace her finger along her chubby baby cheek, "that's not meant to go inside of your mouth."

"I miss those days," Olive whispered and it was in that moment that Erin realized the conversation had shifted and everyone's focus had been on her and Haven.

The charm no longer held her daughter's attention. Now her head lay between Erin's bosom, facing her dad as she watched him eat the rest of his pumpkin pie. He held his spoon out to her but she shook her head, turning to look away. Her legs remain parted and draped over her mother's lap. One of her legs on one side and the other leg on the other. She yawns the second Erin starts to rub circles into her back, eyes fluttering open and shut as she fights the inevitable sleep that desperately wants to overtake her.

"You can say that again," Olinsky backed up Olive's earlier remark, "I remember when Lexi was that small. All she wanted to do was be in my arms. Now I have to practically beg her for a hug."

Olive nodded, elbow on the table and chin resting in her palm as she sighs dramatically, "Yeah, my little one is just growing up on me. And pretty soon I won't be his favorite person anymore."

"Motherhood looks good on you, Erin," Olivia imparted, smiling kindly as she watches her longtime friend brush a few strands of Haven's dirty blonde hair out of her face; it was the few strands that unfortunately didn't make it into her two adorable pigtails, "I'm still trying to get used to seeing you as someone's mommy. It's a good look on you."

"It feels good. My heart just smiles because of her," Erin whispered, rocking side to side. She witnesses the second her daughter's eyes shut in what is expected to be a brief nap.

Haven peacefully sleeps as Erin holds her in a chest-to-chest hold. Her chubby cheek rest above Erin's heart and the steady beat of it, comforts and soothes her as she drifts off. After checking once more to ensure her daughter's head is facing to one side so she can breathe, she looks up and lifts her spoon, carefully using her one free hand to eat her pie.

"Be honest with me, Erin," Olive spoke up, leaning forward as if she was about to ask something private, "have you ever dropped your baby?"

"Honestly," she swallows down a bite of pie, "I did," she averted her eyes around the room as everyone surprisingly turned to face her, "okay, it wasn't my finest hour and I read mommy blogs all the time and a lot of parents have unintentionally dropped their babies. And to be more specific, I didn't technically drop her, I had her on the bed a few months ago and she rolled off."

"Have you ever dropped me, mommy?" Danny looks up at his mother; mouth covered in crumbs and whipped cream from his hot chocolate.

"I did maybe once or twice," Olive admitted ashamedly, "it was a few months into me being a single mom after Justin, you know?" Everyone silently nodded as she continued, "I was sleep derived from caring for a one year old and working all hours of the night, it was an accident, but he's here, healthy and perfect so that's a thing of the past."

A few chuckles surround the table as Voight departs from the kitchen holding a tray of fresh mugs of hot chocolate. No one had even noticed he had disappeared but seeing Danny with his cup made total sense. He must have left with his grandfather to extend a helping hand and returned the second his own cup was finished. Erin carefully takes hers from her husband's hold, whispering a quiet thanks as she brings it to her mouth, "Uh oh," she hears Will chuckle as the baby begins to stir, "we should have known the little rascal wouldn't be out for too long. Maybe she wants some hot cocoa? May I?" He looks to her parents for permission before extending his own cup after blowing against the steam a few times, "Take a sip."

Will has total control of the situation, holding the mug to her little lips and tilting it enough for a few drops to fill her mouth. When he pulls the mug away, a little mustache of whipped cream remains above her upper lip, sitting there until Erin wipes it away with the tip of her thumb, "Did you like it?" She doesn't expect an answer and isn't surprised when she doesn't receive one, "she has to get herself together. She just woke up."

With the back of her hands, Haven wipes her own eyes and buries her face in between her mother's bosom. She yawns and tilts her head up, chin on Erin's chest as she takes in her mother's eyes, "Hi baby, welcome back," Haven grins at the greeting and lifts her head up.

"Can we go back in the living room to finish playing?" Danny asks, practically bouncing off his seat and over to Erin, his hand already outstretched towards Haven, "Please, we'll be good."

"Whatever you mess up, make sure you clean it up," Olive ordered the second Haven is placed back onto her two feet, "and watch her Danny, remember she's not as big as you and she doesn't know better. Make sure she doesn't get into anything."

"I promise," he takes his cousin's hand and practically yanks her.

Only she tumbles and falls and his small body isn't strong enough to pick her up.

"How about you lead and she'll follow?" Jay recommended, watching as his daughter struggled to push herself back onto her feet.

"…but she can't walk well," Danny retorted.

"That's true," he rose from his seat to lift his little one back onto her unsteady feet, "but she may crawl after you. There are other alternatives that she could use to follow you."

"So, leave her?"

Jay laughed, shaking his head, "No, walk, but don't go so fast. Stay close and if she looks like she got distracted by something and goes off course, lead her back. Fortunately the living room isn't too far away. And we'll be in there shortly to catch some more of the game."

Danny does as instructed and as assumed before, she does venture off course, only for him to go back and attempt to steer her in the right direction. She grins at him and he always says that's her way of thanking him. Eventually the family decides to leave the dining room and catch what's left of the game on television. The table is left a mess as everyone drags their feet and their full bellies into the other room. As if it was second nature, Jay and Erin scan the living room before even thinking about watching television. They look around until they see Haven, sitting in front of Danny as he plays peek-a-boo with her.

Danny sits cross-legged in front of Haven and uses his small palms to cover his face, leaving the baby anticipating the big reveal. And moments later, when he removes his hands and exclaims 'peek-a-boo' she claps and doubles over in laughter. He does it again and gets the same reaction. He does it once more and she laughs just as hard as she laughed the first time. It's only when Danny covers his face for too long that stirs the opposite reaction, Haven's bottom lip quivers and she reaches forward to hit his hand but right before she's able to, he drops them again and screams, "peek-a-boo!" She laughs. And Erin captures a picture.

"Now you try," he directs, reaching forward to take her hands and bring them up to her face, "come on Havie, it's your turn. I don't want to do it anymore."

Haven doesn't follow instructions. She pulls her hands away from him and sits patiently, watching and waiting for him to play another round of peek-a-boo.

Erin notices that at some point during the child's game, Jay slipped away to take a seat on the couch beside Olinsky. Once he knew his daughter was nearby and safe, he found it easier to relax and watch the game. She felt compelled to join him and would have if her eyes didn't scan her child's clothing and zero in on her bare feet. When they came, Haven had socks and now hours later, she's no longer wearing any. Erin crosses the room and stoops down to her daughter's eyelevel, "Where are your socks?" for some unknown reason Erin expects an answer, whether verbally or through her pointing in the direction where she discarded them, "Where are your socks? Danny, do you know where she tossed her socks?"

"No," he shakes his head before turning his attention onto one of the toys he brought over.

"Why do I even bother putting socks on your feet?" Erin whispered, more to herself than the baby that's staring at her. She reaches out and twirls a strand of Haven's hair dangling out of her pigtail around her finger.

And Jay watches, he takes in the sight of his two favorite girls, the two women he love the most and he couldn't help but feel grateful and lucky. They're his family and on this day –Thanksgiving- he finds himself giving thanks for that. In the past year, he came close to losing so much yet he still has them, they're happy and safe. Even though his wife continues to glance around in search of two small baby socks, she's never looked so beautiful. With a crease in her forehead as she thinks long and hard, trying to remember if Haven had them on her feet at dinner, she manages to still look gorgeous.

At some point Erin gives up and just scoops the baby into her arms, maneuvering her around into a hello-world type of hold where Haven's back rest against her chest so that her head is comfortably resting between her mother's breast. One of Erin's arms is under the baby's bottom and the other is across her chest. The hold provides their curious and nosey baby with the ability to see where her mother is taking her and that's towards him. He scoots over to give his wife room to flop down onto the couch, only removing her arm from under the baby's bottom so she could situate their daughter better on her lap.

As the night grew later, the game came to an end and Thanksgiving started to wind down, everyone grew exhausted. With plates made to eat tomorrow, everyone began bundling themselves up to venture back outside one last time to head to their cars and get home. The baby had dozed on and off for the duration of the game, but now as she stands awake and alert, with her small hand holding onto Hank's shoulder as he guides her feet into her -finally found- socks and shoes.

"She's being so good for you," Olive coos, leaning forward to brush a goodbye kiss to the baby's forehead, "Anytime I try to put shoes and socks on her, she whines."

"That's because she's my little buddy," Voight responds, moving to slide on her other boot. She switched hands in order to secure a new position as he wiggled the boot onto her foot, "Alright, I'm all done. Can I get a goodbye hug?"

Haven slowly drops her hand and nods her head up and down, and then up and down once again before moving towards his open arms. She rested her head against his shoulder and sighed into his embrace. He tightened his arms around her, squeezing her snug and inhaling her flowery baby scent. Her eyes fluttered closed and she was on the verge of falling asleep until the hug ended. Erin eased over, gently pulling her daughter towards her, "I'm hoping she falls asleep on the ride home," she yawns, zipping the baby's coat up, "I'm actually counting on it," she snugs the wool hat onto her daughter's head.

The second Erin was finished; Jay stepped in and drew the baby up into his arms. Almost immediately her head found comfort resting on his shoulder, breaths coming out even as she slowly starts to fall asleep. She fought it though. She struggled to keep her eyes open. Even as her family trickled out of the house, sending waves in her direction, she managed to fight it. Using her last bout of energy, she lifts her hand and waves it side to side before succumbing to the exhaustion and falling asleep, carried to the car safely in her father's arms.


	12. Twelve Months

It's Haven's birthday. It's her first birthday. It's been a whole year and the time has gone by much too fast. She was growing up too fast and both her parents would do anything in this moment to freeze time, to embrace these seconds, to live through the last year and their daughter's first milestones all over again. Erin and Jay didn't want any more children and many people have a lot to say about that, but after finding out she was pregnant during the investigation of a serial killer, surviving said killer and giving birth to her bonded them and their baby to a level that many have and will probably never reach. Erin didn't just carry her in her stomach for technically eight months since she went into early labor, but she carried her through the adrenaline, through the fight against Tyler and every part of the investigation. She felt closer to her baby to an extreme that one could argue maybe a little unhealthy. In time, when she's older, she'll work on it, but right now, when her parents are her favorite people, Erin was going to enjoy it. They loved that little girl with every part of their body and with every fiber of their being. The love for her was so strong they felt like they wouldn't be able to love another kid the same and maybe people don't understand that, but they've never bonded with their only child through the reign of a serial killer, they've never almost lost their kid to that same killer twice.

Just last year Erin was practically forced into early labor, rescued from Tyler's house, taken to the hospital only to deliver her baby, her safe haven, the comfort and security in Erin's arms and in her heart. She lives up to her name, being that refuge and sanctuary for her parents, providing them that endless amount of love that they sometimes feel they don't deserve. In her hazel eyes, they see absolute trust. How could someone trust another person that much? In those same eyes, they see unconditional love and adoration. No matter their flaws, Haven loves them for it; she couldn't care less about them. They're her parents and that's never going to change.

Haven Camille Halstead –H.C.H. - wasn't planned but she was the best surprise they've ever had or will receive. She's just another, albeit the largest, reason they make it through the day, their motivation to come home after work and the drive they need to make the streets as safe as possible, for her, for other kids and for all the parents out there that loves their kids just as much.

She's the apple of their eye.

She's the best thing they've ever done and created.

She's everything that's good in the world; she's everything that's good in them merged together.

She's their true love.

She's their world, their life, their adoration and their heart in human form.

She's absolutely everything.

And at the age of one, she doesn't even know it.

Erin could barely move from her spot in the baby's nursery, cradling her daughter to her chest as she rocks back and forth. She thinks about the creation of this nursery; it had to be perfect for their little girl and even though most nights she spent with her parents, decorating and designing it, wasn't a waste of time. All of the people who loved her came together for her kid and she could never repay them. Her daughter was loved by many and she could never say thank you enough. Her little angel wasn't asleep. They had been up for the last three hours; both were bathed, dressed and ready for the day's events, the day that in this household is dedicated to the toddler in her arms. Erin slows the rocking chair to a stop the second Haven looks up at her, hazel eyes wide, innocent and full of joy as she looks into the matching pair of her mother.

With her little, chubby legs resting on either side of Erin's waist, her mother's arm wrapped around the small of her back as her other hand continuously runs up and down her daughter's back, "Can mommy have a kiss?" She puckered her lips and just like she always does, Haven leans forward and brushes her lips against her mother's lips, "Thank you."

A toothy grin stretches across her face. She didn't have all of her teeth yet, but the few that she did have made an eager appearance every time she was happy and excited. Her lower teeth, the ones toward the right and left of the center made their debut in time for her to enjoy her first birthday cake. Haven giggled at Erin's words before kissing her again. Erin lived for these moments, these kisses and giggles and baby hugs.

"Do I hear laughing?" Jay poked his head in the nursery. He's fully dressed and ready for the party. His arms are open and he enthusiastically walks towards his baby girl before enveloping her up into his arms. She starts to laugh harder as he maneuvers her around in his arms. She winds up being held on his shoulder where she's facing his chest and her arms are draping over his shoulders. He has one hand resting on her back while the other hand is offered to her mother, his wife, his favorite woman and just as enthusiastically as he entered the room and lifted his daughter, she grabbed his hand and hopped to her feet.

His back is straight to avoid any strain; he's learned the hard way that arching his back while carrying his baby girl can result in enough pain in his back that reminded him of his age. Jay walks out of the room with his wife following closely behind; sporting silly faces that have their daughter hiccupping laughs fill the room. That little laugh of hers, rooted in the base of her tummy and spurting out in giggles, hiccups and loud laughter has her bouncing against his shoulder and sending chuckles of his own down his spine. With his free hand, he held the banister and walked down the stairs, "Guests should arrive any time now."

And he must have put it in the air because once his words were spoken, the doorbell rang. With the baby draped over his shoulder, he walks the two of them to the door. Jay sets her down on her feet and he feels her small hands grip his pants leg, sticking close to one of the two most familiar faces, -her parents. She leans her forehead against his leg just as Jay reaches forward to open the door, "Hey guys," he greets Ruzek and Burgess, "you two are the first ones here." And just as he's about to close the door, he sees Atwater and Dawson walking up the driveway.

"Happy Birthday Haven," Kim says, stooping low to be leveled with the bashful girl whose arms are wrapped pretty tight –for a one year old- around her dad's leg.

Jay rests his hand against the top of his toddler's head, "Can you say thank you?" She can't. It doesn't stop her from trying though. She babbles something and Kim pretends as if she understood it completely, providing a nice follow up, "You're welcome."

"Happy Birthday Hav," Ruzek replies next and her grip around her dad's leg starts to loosen.

"There's a table set up in the living room for all the presents," he tells them, noticing either a gift bag or a wrapped box in their hold, "just set it down in there."

Kim extended her hand towards the little girl and patiently waited for her to take it. She did after a little coercion from her father. Haven walked alongside Burgess into the living room. Just as Ruzek set their gift down onto the table, Erin turned on some music. Now that the guests were starting to arrive and the girl of honor wasn't tired and was being a little social, this was the best time as any to start celebrating. Erin organized the gifts on the table so it would look a little neat, "Thanks again guys for coming."

Burgess shrugged and lifted Haven into her arms, "We wouldn't have missed this for the world."

First birthday parties were always tricky because the kid is too young to actually remember it but at the same time you want to do something special to commemorate their first year. So much has happened since this time last year. Tyler's attack, the pre-term labor, Tyler's arrest and then him breaking out, kidnapping Haven and then dying; it was all a thing of the past. It was all something they had to heal from one day at a time. There were good moments too though like bringing Haven home from the hospital, going out for Atwater's birthday, -that'll always be special since that was their first time leaving the house since the baby's birth. Haven's first time crawling, learning how to walk and her in the beginning stages of learning how to talk.

She's developing this independence about her. She's not as clingy as she used to be, but at the same time she won't try anything new unless she saw Erin or Jay standing near. Just as Hank, Olive and Danny arrive, she starts to think of just how close Danny and Haven have gotten in the last couple of months. He went from being jealous of her to being one of her little protectors. He always made sure he was close by to stop her from venturing off somewhere without adult supervision. He would either grab her hand or if it were something out of his control, he would come to an adult. Danny loves that little girl like a sister.

Erin remembers her first holidays: Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Independence Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving. They say another year older, another year wiser. Haven walked, more like waddled, around in her birthday outfit saved especially for this day. She has Danny trailing closely behind like a protective older cousin. She could only picture them when Haven becomes a teenager, Danny will be an adult by that time but they'll be two unstoppable forces against the world.

Mouse and Olinsky were the next to arrive. Then Annie and her son Travis; her boyfriend couldn't make it because he had to work. Each of them greeted Haven with either a hug or a wave. Annie opted for the wave since she was one of the unrecognizable faces to the little girl and she didn't want to spook her by going in for a hug. By the time Emily, her husband and their two kids arrive, Jay, Adam, Mouse and Haven are in a tickling battle with the three men all teamed up against a poor defenseless toddler. Those moving fingers of the guys are tickling her belly so much that her face is turning red and she's breaking out into a fit of giggles. Jay lifts her up into his arms, granting her reprieve, and drops her gently onto the cushions of the couch. If it was possible, she laughed even harder. She held her arms in the air and exclaimed, "Again!"

And Jay found his escape when the doorbell rang. Dawson filled in, lifting the little girl up, tossing her into the air before catching her and dropping her onto the couch. Haven was going to be exhausted by the time her party was over and Erin loved it. She thought about what she wanted to do the second her toddler was down for the count. She could have a glass of wine, cuddle up with her husband and watch a movie. The small things in life felt so grand to a woman with an energized toddler.

Jay soon returns to the living room followed by Aly and her fiancée Megan. Aly had only met Haven once and Megan had never met her at all, but when Jay found out they were in town, he just had to invite them over. It was the day before they were set to leave for Arizona so it all managed to work itself out. Aly was going to see Haven and Erin again and Jay got to see his childhood friend once more. They set the gift they had gotten her down on the table, it was getting crowded. So many presents for a one year old just showed how much she was loved.

By the time Will, Natalie and Owen arrived; Haven was resting in Kim's arms, holding both of her hands around a freshly prepared bottle Erin had just handed to her. Playing with Dawson had worn her out; she wasn't running around the house, she wasn't squirming around in the arms of whoever tried to hold her and she wasn't hollering and whining at the top of her lungs.

"Antonio, if being a detective doesn't work out, maybe you should consider being a babysitter," Jay had joked the second his eyes fell on his daughter silently drinking from her bottle. Her head was back; resting against Kim's shoulder and her chest rose and fell with each huff of breath.

She emptied the bottle. Erin surprisingly turned to face Dawson, "Antonio, what did you do to my kid? You wiped her out," she chuckled.

"She'd make a great workout buddy," he flexed his arms, "my muscles are burning. If you ever need a last minute babysitter, just give me a ring and I'll meet you at the gym." That's definitely no place for a one year old.

"Jay, can you bring in her high chair?" He nodded at his wife's words and disappeared to retrieve it as she went into the kitchen to grab the homemade cake. She worked hard on this, decorating it in white and red and placing a few Elmo designs into the white icing. One candle was pressed into the center and before lifting the large dessert, she lit the single candle.

By the time she had a good grip on the cake, lifted it up and began walking into the living room, she saw her little girl already placed and strapped into the high chair. A rendition of happy birthday filled the room with Owen and Danny adding notes to the song that didn't exist. She set the cake down on to the tray table connected to her high chair and Jay remained close to ensure she didn't reach for the candle and burn herself.

Haven bounced up and down in her seat, clapping her hands because of all the attention she's getting. Jay kept one hand on her shoulder to limit her movements, "Happy birthday baby," he grinned; the proud smile on his face warmed Erin's heart, -she loved that man tremendously, "blow out your candle, Havie." She didn't understand his instruction. So instead, he unstrapped her and his wife held the cake as he pulled Haven to her feet, allowing her to stand in her highchair. He leaned forward and his daughter followed his movement. His arm is protectively wrapped around her small waist, her little hands are clasped around his arm, "We're going to blow on the count of three, like this," he faced her direction and blew; she giggled when it hit her face, "you try it, come on blow," he blows in her face again and this time she tries too. Her little lips scrunch up but no air came out.

The guests in the room burst into a fit of giggles.

"Try again baby," Erin whispered; Haven tried just as her dad did. It was a little better, not perfect, but definitely better than her first attempt.

"Let's blow your candles out," he turned his head to face her cake and she did as he had done. He twisted his lips and so did she. He pretended to blow out but she actually did. The lit flame wavered and he pretended to blow again and she followed and after a fourth attempt it finally blows out sparking a chorus of applause and cheers.

"Sit back down baby," he pats the seat and slides her back into it, strapping her into the high chair just as Erin sets the cake back down, "Next step birthday girl," he lifts his hand and makes a motion to smash the cake, or at least the side of the cake closest to her.

She doesn't follow. She babbles, "No."

"…like this Hav," Ruzek approaches her other side, "this is one year old tradition, you have to do it," he lifts her hand and carefully stretches it out. She immediately pulls her hand away. He tries again, this time his grip is a little firmer; she can't pull away this time so she whines. And Kim smacks his hand away, forcing him to drop his hold.

"She obviously doesn't want to do it," Kim pulled her fiancé away, "don't force her!"

"I was just trying to help."

"Well, she doesn't need your help," Burgess retorted, nodding over Ruzek's shoulder and out of curiosity he turned around to see both of her hands smashed into the cake.

"It seems my efforts did not fail," Ruzek smugly replied.

"Nah, it was all Jay," Erin chuckled, removing the cake from the high chair tray table, "she didn't mind doing it once her dad stuck his hands in." She nodded towards Halstead's messy fingers. He did it and she didn't even hesitate to follow his lead.

Natalie grabbed the cake from Erin's arms, "I'll take it into the kitchen, salvage what wasn't destroyed and cut it up for whoever wants cake." Erin whispered her thanks.

Haven held two handfuls of smashed cake in her palms. Bread crumbs fell to the tray table and icing seeped through the cracks of her fingers. She didn't care though. She was in absolute heaven the second she brought the dessert up to her mouth and started to eat it. Erin took pictures on her cell; she took enough pictures to satisfy Jay who had disappeared to clean his own hands.

"You're just so messy," Olive approached to take her own photos. Haven had reached one of her hands out towards Olive, silently offering her a taste of the cake, "I'll pass, thanks though."

The room chuckled. Owen and Danny disappeared to hover around Natalie until she cut them a nice, sizeable piece of cake. When Jay reappeared, his hands clean, he was holding a pair of wipes. It was time to start the battle of cleaning a toddler's hands and mouth. She kept eating the cake, but majority of it seemed to miss her mouth and either land on her clothes, in her hair or around her face. Bath time tonight will definitely be interesting.

"Alright little one," Erin unstrapped her from her high chair and lifted her up. She carefully held her in front of her with Haven's back against her chest. With one hand around the baby's waist and the other supporting her bottom, she ensured that none of the mess got onto her.

Haven looks around as her mother carries her towards the table full of presents. She spots Ally and Megan and neither of their faces is recognizable to her. They wave and she hesitantly waves back, opening her palm and causing the remainder of the cake in her right hand to fall to the floor. They laughed out an apology just as Annie offered to clean it up.

Erin sets her kid on her feet on the table. Jay stands to one side and Erin on the other to ensure she didn't fall. Together, like partners, they cleaned up their energized kid to the best of their ability. As they did so, Natalie served cake, with Danny and Owen as her helpers.

"Auntie Erin," Danny approaches her; his mouth is full of cake, "when will Haven open presents? I want her to see what me and mommy got for her!" He was practically bouncing on his feet. Olive will have a long night ahead of her, trying to get him to bed later.

"I'm going to clean her up and then we can start," she answered.

He nodded eagerly before running over to tell his mom, "No running in the house," Olive chastised, watching her son come to an abrupt stop at the reprimand.

Jay had saved the last wipe for her mouth. She wasn't clean, per se, but she wasn't as bad as she was before. And her hands and mouth were no longer sticky so both parents considered this a success. Erin lifted her up and set her back onto her feet on the floor, "Let's put the gifts on the floor and let her choose which one to open first." They were teaching her autonomy; Erin had read somewhere in a baby book that it's good to start allowing your kid, as young as one, to start making minor decisions. This was minor enough.

Erin and Jay had already gifted their daughter the night before with multiple seasons of Sesame Street, a few outfits and a doll baby who kind of resembled her appearance.

Today's gifts were from family and friends. Olinsky and Mouse had volunteered for the task, lifting each present either gift wrapped or in a gift bag and set it onto the floor. Haven watched with amazement, especially because majority of the boxes were bigger than her. Erin stooped low to be eye level with her girl, "Which one?" She points to each one, trying to signify to Haven to choose.

"This one is from me, grandpa and mom," Danny exclaimed, swooping in to grab a wrapped gift.

"Sweetie, we're letting Haven pick," Olive sighed, grabbing her son by the shoulder and directing him over to a seat.

Haven chooses based on color and giftwrap. A large box is wrapped in Elmo wrapping paper and recently Sesame Street has become her new obsession. She made her decision based on that. It just so happened to be the gift from Olive, Hank and Danny. She went for the box that was wider, taller and heavier than her but it didn't stop her from trying to wrap her arms around it. Hank chuckled, snapping a picture of it on his cell, "Determined, just like her mother." Haven tried to lift it again and the box didn't move an inch.

She took a step back and looked at her dad before a small whimper emitted from her mouth.

"You were doing so good Hav," he applauded, clapping his hands as he walked over, "you're so big and strong, just like a big girl," he lifted the box and carried it over to the center of the room.

Erin extended her hand towards her kid when she realized she wasn't following. Haven grabbed her mom's finger, wrapping her own tiny hand around her pointer finger before being guided towards the box. Both parents directed their daughter to open the present by showing her how to tear into it. She did. And she seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper more than the actual gift. It was a dollhouse, -a huge dollhouse.

"This is amazing," Erin whispered at the detailed toy home, "look Hav," Erin starts to point at pictures on the box, using her own excitement to get her daughter excited.

"That's from us," Danny announced, running over. He wraps his arms around his little cousin and lifts her up to the best of his ability. She was a bit heavy for him to hold. It lasted only a few seconds but it was long enough to cause the little girl to giggle.

"Olinsky and I will put the dollhouse up in her room and set it up before we leave," Hank offered. Lindsay mouthed a thank you because she couldn't imagine trying to deal with it.

"Go choose another one," Erin points and this time Jay follows her over towards the array of presents, standing near because he knows she's going to need help.

Haven went towards the second biggest box and struggled to wrap her arms around it. It looked like she was hugging it. Her head laid against it and when Jay went to pick it up, he wrapped his arms around both her and the gift. Erin stared at the flex of his muscles; this was not the time, but who could blame her for checking out her husband. Those muscles; he caught her staring and he smiled and if it was possible, she fell more in love with him than she was seconds ago. He carefully set the gift and their kid down onto her feet and Erin dragged the box towards her.

It was a gift from Dawson, "the kids helped me pick it out," it's all he supplied them with before they allowed Haven to tear into it. Once again, it appeared that she loved the act of tearing into the paper more than she did the gift. It was fun to her, like a game. And this gift felt like it was more for Erin and Jay than their kid, "Thanks man," Jay whispered, eyes averting from the new toy box to the long line of gifts she hasn't opened yet, "after today, we'll definitely need this."

Jay's a neat freak and no one is surprised by his reaction. Haven's attention was on the gift for about five seconds before she starts to play with the wrapping paper. Dawson has kids; he didn't take it personal. Erin pushed the gift to the side and as if on repeat Jay walks over to the line of gifts from their family and friends, allowing Haven to pick the next, -a gift bag with pink tissue paper sticking out to hide the gift from prying eyes. It's from Burgess and Ruzek.

It's a toy stroller for her doll baby.

Annie and Travis got her a baby doll which Haven happily –by guidance from her mother- put her in the stroller, upside down but she was in there nonetheless.

Olinsky had gotten her a toy kitchen. The add-ons such as the plastic food, silverware, pots and pans, Jay could already see them ending up in various places around the house. The add-ons will be the first toys to go into the toy chest. Aly and Megan gifted her with a plastic tea set and Aly couldn't help but to crack jokes in regards to Jay not being able to turn down or resist a tea party when she's a little older to understand how it works. Jay couldn't deny it either. He nodded affirmatively and actually admitted that he was looking forward to it.

Mouse and Atwater teamed up for a gift and purchased a talking Elmo. Haven was ecstatic; it was the one present that she chose over playing with the wrapping paper. It came with batteries so when Haven grabbed Elmo's hand and he started talking and rocking side to side, both parents sighed in defeat, knowing that she was going to repeatedly press his hand to spark entertainment.

"I swear, just wait until one of you have a kid," Erin threatened, handing the Elmo back to her kid when Haven started whining the second she pulled it away, "I'm getting you both back for this. I'll get the loudest, most obnoxious toy there is. You both have my word." They swallowed dryly, both knowing that Erin is the one person they could count on to follow through.

Emily, her husband and two kids had gotten her a plastic and colorful tool set; it came with a yellow and green plastic drill, chunky nuts and bolts to ensure she didn't swallow them, a yellow and orange screwdriver and four plastic cars with spinning wheels. Emily grinned when Haven walked over to her, needing no prompting from her mother. This was a woman she saw almost as much as she sees her parents. She wrapped her arms around Emily's leg and held on tight.

"Isn't that sweet?" Erin gushed, heartwarming at the sight before her.

"It's good to expose kids with a variety of toys that were labelled for the opposite sex. It doesn't hurt to let little girls play with race cars, toy tool sets and action figures," Emily defended her option for a gift even though she didn't need to offer it. Erin trusted her and who could blame her when she saw the look in Emily's eye. She truly cared for children, all children, like they were her own. Emily lifted Haven into her arms and carried her over to her parents, "You still have a few more gifts to open," Emily asserted before following her statement up with a sentence in German that Haven understood. The little girl smiled and nodded her head before being set back onto her feet, "I just told her that she's getting so big."

Haven ventured back over to the remaining presents, choosing one by pointing at it and waiting for her father to come pick it up. She knew the routine now. She didn't even attempt to carry it anymore. Bunny had gotten her granddaughter a gift and dropped it off the night before since she wasn't invited to the party. It was more so to keep the peace. This day was about Haven, not about the long lasting feud between Bunny and Hank. Bunny had purchased a coloring book with a big box of crayons. It was something simple but it was something needed for such a young and creative little girl. Haven grabbed the box and held it towards her mother, "You want me to open it?" And when Haven nodded, Erin did as she asked.

"We'll definitely have to supervise this," Jay remarked, swiping a crayon from his daughter's hold when it's aimed directly for her mouth, "one second the box will be full and the next, it'll be empty because she ate them all."

"Put this on top of the table," she held the box up for him. They needed to keep it at a distance too high for Haven to put her little curious hands on it.

The one year old watched as her father set it even higher than the table her mother told him to put it on. He wasn't taking any chances. He sat it on a shelf above the fireplace.

"Come on Hav, last gift," this time Jay didn't wait for her to choose it because it was only one left. He picked it up and carried it over to her and her mother.

Last but definitely not least Will, Natalie and Owen had gifted their young niece and cousin with a personalized name puzzle. They had gotten her two: one that spells out Haven and another that spells out Halstead. It's a learning tool to teach toddlers how to spell their names.

"Haven, can you tell everyone thank you?" Erin asked her daughter.

As a response, the little girl cooed something similar to thank you, but not so much a thank you. It was a little mumbled and incoherent but it was the sweetest thing ever and everyone had thought it was so cute.

Hank and Al lift the dollhouse and carry it upstairs to start setting it up. Erin disappears momentarily to tell them where to set it up at. The baby's room was organized and after hurricane Haven blew through it a few nights ago, she and Jay set out to clean it, -by his insistence. Erin thought it would be pointless because she'll just blow through it again but this is where their difference of opinion lay. And now Erin was determined to keep it as clean as possible for however long as possible. It definitely won't be lasting long now that she has a whole array of new toys to bite on, play with and attempt to flush down the toilet.

Erin reappeared downstairs to be met with her one year old standing by the bottom step. She wanted her mama. And Erin happily obliged her daughter's need for her mother to always be within sight of her. She lifted her daughter up, setting her on her hip where Haven leans her head against Erin's shoulder. The baby is nestled into her mother's midsection, straddling her waist as Erin ventures into the kitchen, collecting dirty dishes around the house to set them inside the sink. Haven's head faces outwards as one hand rests against her mother's chest and the other on her back, "Mama," she babbles.

And the sound of her voice as she calls for her does something to Erin's heart.

"Yes baby," she replies; the arm on the side her kid is settled on is wrapped around the baby's back with her hand resting on her chubby thigh, "I can't wait until you're old enough to do chores kid."

Haven giggles, despite not knowing or at least understanding what her mother said.

"I doubt you'll think it's that funny in ten years," Erin joked, using her free arm to place the stopper in the sink, cut on the hot faucet water and add dish soap to the rising water.

"There are my two favorite girls," even though Erin's back was faced to him, she could hear him enter the kitchen. Haven, the little nosey girl, turned her head around to look. He walks into the kitchen, holding a recently prepared bottle, -one made by Natalie. He extended it towards her and she collected it with two hands, "Dada." That word combined with the lightness in her voice did wonders to his heart; it made it flutter and briefly stop. There was no getting used to it.

Placing the nipple of the bottle into her mouth, she started to drink with the thirst of a dehydrated person. The cake dried her mouth. She gulped down half its contents, earning a light chuckle from both of her parents. This moment, this day, it was filled with a collection of memories just like the photos lining the hallway leading from the front door to the remainder of the house. It was pictures taken years before the birth of their daughter, the nine months of her pregnancy and the twelve months of Haven's first year. Erin didn't have many pictures of herself as a kid and to remedy that, she ensured that Haven did. She may have taken more than necessary, but who could blame her? I mean…a combination of features between Jay and Erin created the perfect kid. Any parent would want to document perfection.

"Alright, alright, I'll put you down," Erin laughs the second Haven drops her bottle and starts to wiggle out of her mama's embrace. When her little bare feet touched the ground, she took off running –more like waddling with her arms held out like Frankenstein- in the direction of her uncle Will. His arms are spread open and he's stooping low. When he came in the kitchen, they didn't know, but Haven always had an eye out for her favorite uncle.

Haven wrapped her arms around her uncle's neck and he lifted her into his strong ones. He pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking further into the kitchen.

"You're stealing my kid," Jay joked.

"It's not my fault she has a favorite Halstead brother."

"Want to see something Erin's been teaching her?" Jay asked, excitedly holding out his arms and out of a natural instinct, she leans towards him until he scoops her up and sets her on his hip, "blow a kiss to Uncle Will, Hav," he directed, mimicking the action.

Erin's watching as she does the few dishes that were soaking in the sink, "You have to show and tell her a few times." She unplugs the stopper from the sink to let the water out.

"Blow him a kiss," Jay patiently orders.

"Look Hav," Erin shows her what to do, "blow a kiss. Mwah."

This had to be the most adorable thing that either one of them –Will, Erin and Jay- have seen as the baby brings her opened palm up to her lips and flick it away with a proud bravado.

"Yayyyyy," Erin and Jay applaud; Haven claps for herself.

"Thanks kid," Will ruffles her hair after catching the kiss and placing it upon his cheek.

Erin wipes and dries her hands on the dishrag before extending it towards her daughter. Haven loved to copy her. The one year old wiped her hands gently before dropping the rag to the ground. Erin stooped down to pick it up just as Jay set the toddler back onto her feet. Haven beat her mother to the gray dishtowel and lifted it up to extend towards her mommy, "Thank you pumpkin," Erin grabbed it and lifted it up to set on the counter, "Can mama have a kiss?" She's pointing at herself because that's what the baby knows her as, "Give mama a kiss."

Haven closed in the distance, one hand situated on her mother's shoulder for balance before rising to her tippy toes and pecking her mother's lips.

"I just love my baby's kisses," Erin cooed, patting her daughter's tummy, "Thank you!"

Haven went to grab her unfinished bottle to consume the last remnants of milk. She guzzled it down before dropping the empty plastic onto the tiled floor and taking off to take advantage of her developing ability in walking. She was on a milk-high; she was absolutely milk-wasted. Her little tummy so full of birthday cake and milk but it didn't slow her down. That energy high buzzed through her belly and with her small form and quick moves, it took a lot for Jay to catch up to her. Halstead grabbed her arm just as she gets to the front door, "Hey, hey, little lady, come on," he scoops her up with one arm; her feet dangle and her back rests against his chest, "Just where do you think you're going?"

She babbles something in reply. It's like she understands. It's like she's trying to communicate.

Jay carries her over to his wife, who is back in the living room, currently sitting on the couch, chatting it up with their loved ones. He hands the baby off to her. Haven is due for a good burp. If they wait too long, it'll only lead to indigestion or possibly an upset stomach which translates to both parents being up all night soothing a cranky baby. Erin positions Haven so she's now sitting on her lap and as she seems to always do now, Haven leans back, resting the back of her head against her mother's shoulder. Ensuring that her hand isn't holding her throat, Erin cradles the baby's chin with one hand and rests the heel of the same hand against her kid's chest, "Alright, give mama a good burp," with her other hand, she starts to pat against the baby's back gently.

"Seeing you as a mother still takes some getting used to,"

Erin continually pats against the baby's back until she hears a small burp followed by the feeling of a thick, liquid substance slide along her hand. She's been a mother for a year now. This isn't the first time her kid spit up on her. Haven's spit up has been on her clothes, in her hair, against her neck and now it falls slimy in her hand. Usually she remembers to grab a cloth, a bib or something to lie across her shoulder or lap to avoid getting spit up everywhere. She forgot this time. Oh well…it's just a little baby spit up. She doesn't react. She just slides Haven out of her lap and back onto her feet, "Excuse me Hav," Erin guides her baby to the side as she stands up.

"Peek a boo," Jay jumps out; Haven laughs. She loves this game. She takes off, her little feet scampering away as her dad gives cleaning her hands, Erin has her cell out, capturing a short video of the two of them playing in order to post it to her social media later.

Mouse joins in. Will does too. It was an unfair advantage.

Her one year old would fall over every other second because she may have walking somewhat mastered, but was nowhere near ready to run. And besides, adding the fact that she keeps laughing meant her poor balance was even more off. Three adults against a baby who has just graduated to an actual year wasn't a fair game so it was no surprise when she was eventually captured in the arms of Mouse. He lifted her into the air, draped her little body over his shoulder and carried her back into the living room where Ruzek had set up her coloring book and crayons.

She had the best family, -blood related and otherwise. It didn't matter. They were all family. And the whole saying about it takes a village to raise a kid was true. She wouldn't know what to do without any of them. Haven's birthday wouldn't be the same. No holidays would be either. The whole mess with Tyler, she didn't want to think about how it would have turned out if she didn't have any of them. She was grateful, -thankful and appreciative even. She loved them with every bit and ounce of her heart. Haven and Jay had the largest spot permanently carved out, but her team and Hank were permanently in there just as much.

Erin takes more photos, capturing memories with every flick of her flash.

Haven babbles and extends one of her crayons towards Ruzek; he comes over and takes a seat next to her on the floor before they busy themselves with coloring in a princess. He's trying to stay in the lines and she's doing everything possible to just add as many colors to the page. One part of the princess is nicely colored while the other part of her is scribbled all outside the lines. Ruzek set down the pink crayon and lifted the green in order to color in the grass, "The goal of this Haven is to color inside the lines. Our princess is starting to look like a monster."

She babbled a few words that no one understood; she was trying to have a full-on conversation with her uncle Adam but the latter struggled to keep up with the animated toddler. He simply nodded along and traded crayons with her when she wanted the green to follow his lead and color in the grass. She continues cooing, babbling and uttering noises that were supposed to be actual words but had only served to further confuse Ruzek, "Here, let's make the sky blue." She shakes her head, "No?" And when she pushes his hand holding the crayon away, his question is confirmed. She grabs another crayon out of the box –its white- and it'll most likely not be seen on the paper, but it didn't stop her from scribbling along the edges of the drawing.

"Your kid's stubborn Lindsay," Ruzek called out, setting the blue crayon down, "I'm pretty sure that's a trait she got from her mother."

Erin rolled her eyes, "I'm just a tad bit stubborn," she holds up two fingers mimicking a pinching position, "but that's only because I know what I want and when I want it."

No one objected. Everyone just laughed. Erin humphed.

"Here Haven, color the sun in yellow," Adam extends the yellow crayon towards her.

She simply pushed his hand away in order to reach for the black crayon. She was original. She was imaginative. Ruzek respected that about her.

"Screw it," he chuckled, lifting a purple crayon to color in the clouds. If she didn't want to stick to traditional colors for her drawing then she didn't have to, -she _is_ the birthday girl.

A one year old had the attention span of a gnat. She didn't want to color anymore, especially when Kim decided to turn up the music in the living room. Haven dropped her crayons to the ground and waddled over to her cousins and Aunt Kim dancing in the center of the floor. Her outstretched arms extend upward as her legs mimic somewhat of a Frankenstein walk which actually works to keep her balanced.

"Dance Havie," Erin walked onto the makeshift dance floor which was actually created when Jay pulled the coffee table off to the side. Kim increased the volume of the music. Danny performed some of the most craziest and hilarious dance moves in order to elicit a laugh from his cousin; she tried to copy him, although it regularly ended up with her landing on her butt.

Haven, with help from Owen, was back on her feet in no time and she stuck to a slow bounce up and down. Her arms were held out and her knees bent and straightened with every beat of the drum. This was her music. This was the theme song to some animated show she watches regularly over Emily's house; it wasn't Elmo, although she adored the red furry monster. As her mom danced to the tunes, Haven had found herself waddling over towards her, wrapping her short, chubby arms around her mother's leg as Erin attempted to continue dancing.

"Come on Haven, show us your moves," Olive encouraged, only for the young child to turn her head inwards and bury her face into her mother's jeans, "Let us see what you got birthday girl!"

"No," Haven whined; her word a little unclear and her voice is muffled. She's getting tired.

Erin continued to dance in an effort to show her birthday girl exactly what she's missing. She reached down and ran her hand through her daughter's dirty blonde hair before lifting her up into her arms, "I honestly don't know if she actually understands that word," Erin chuckled, swaying to the music with the baby of honor in her arms. She dips Haven. She spins around with her in her arms and finally, she manages to elicit a giggle.

Haven yawns. She's starting to crash. Her sugar high was lowering. Erin's dancing time had obviously come to its end. She readjusts the child in her arms, putting her left arm over Haven's left shoulder while holding the baby's right thigh. Haven has one arm on each side of Erin's arm and her head lies near her mother's elbow. Erin's hands meet near Haven's crotch area. This position, this hold, this way of carrying her child in front of her had become something recent; -Haven enjoyed this for some reason. It soothed her in a way that no one truly understood.

"She needs another piece of cake to wake her up," Mouse had joked as he approached a yawning toddler. Her eyes fluttered. Her mother bounced her in this position enough times that it soothed her. She was fighting sleep. It was too much going on for her to peacefully accept that sleep was inevitably coming. She saw Will approach, apple in one hand while his other was empty.

She grinned and popped her head up, suddenly finding a semblance of energy. Haven squirmed in her mother's embrace and fought to get out of it.

"Fine…fine, I can take a hint," Erin set her back onto her feet.

"My favorite niece," Will stoops down to her eye level and she waddles on over to him. She adored him. He was a replica of her daddy and no one could truly blame her for succumbing to the Halstead eyes. She yawned again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder before she started to tear up.

Will rubbed her back and pressed a kiss against the side of her head. He loved her like she was his daughter. She was family, -his only niece. God, he loved her so much.

"Will," he hears Natalie call out for him and he unfortunately releases his hold on his niece. And she starts to cry, more so because she's sleepy than because Will steps out of the living room.

Haven looks defeated. She looks drained. She partied until she had no energy left. She's whining; she's crying loudly even though there are no tears falling from her eyes.

She's fussy which means she's tired. Her sugar high was wearing off and the side effects of an absolute meltdown were taking over. Haven is standing barefoot in the middle of the living room, face is red, mouth is open and she's screaming tears. It's absolutely ridiculous. She isn't in pain, she's not dying and she's not scared. She's just tired.

Erin rolled her eyes and swept the toddler up into her arms. She drapes the baby's head and chest over her forearm, ensuring the baby's head –albeit screaming and wailing- is facing outward, resting by the crook of her arm, "Come on Hav," she whispers, patting and rubbing the baby's back with her other hand, "I think she's all partied out," Erin maintained support of her little girl's head, neck and chest; the toddler's legs dangled as her mother continued to try to soothe her temper tantrum. Haven squirmed and only cried louder, that is, until her mother put her down, "Jay, she needs a bath and a nap."

"It's her party; she can cry if she wants to," Kim joked, walking up to Haven to pinch her chubby cheek. The baby didn't appreciate it; she only cried louder.

"I guess that's our cue to leave," Olive chuckles, taking a hold of her son's hand, "I have to say I don't miss those years at all."

"I didn't act like that," Danny replied, pouting down as Haven sniffled.

"Yeah you did," Hank added his input, "kid, I think you actually invented it."

As Erin stays downstairs to bid their guests farewell and straighten up the living room, Jay took on the task of bathing and rocking their little cub to sleep.

"Bath time," he sang out, pointing towards the stairs, "Ready for a bath, Hav?"

Haven gave a bright smile and clapped her little, chubby hands before waddling towards the staircase. Jay made sure he stayed close behind her. Even as she attempted to be independent, grab onto the stair and climb up each step one by one, he remained close by for the small chance she may stumble back. At this rate, it was going to take forever.

Jay didn't rush her though. He watched as she slowly and gradually made her way up each stair. Haven had climbed the stairs before, her small hand wrapped around the bar as it helps her keep her balance. Every time she climbed, you could positively catch either him or Erin following behind. She thought she was a big girl and she wanted to do big girl things –including climbing the stairs. He and Erin mostly allowed her to do just that, but under parental or adult supervision because of gravitational circumstances, such as today where her foot lands on the edge of the step and when she pushes weight down upon it to climb, it slips. Panic takes over and he scoops her up before she could fall.

Haven's tiny arms wrapped around her dad's neck and her head rested upon his shoulder. She yawned; she was too tired to climb the steps in the first place. At least she didn't cry after her near tumble. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and fought against sleep as it attempted to sway her eyes shut. His hand runs over her back as he presses the lightest of kisses against her cheek, "I got you love bug," he lays another kiss against her dirty blonde hair, "I always got you." He felt her lift her head; this girl and sleep were mortal enemies, she refused to let any semblance of it take over. He'll have to keep her bath short because when the battle of Haven vs. sleep occurs, she never wins.

"Bye Haven," Owen races to the bottom of the stairs to wave at his cousin.

Jay whispers a simple direction in her ear, "Wave bye-bye." He carefully turned around on the stair and lifted her arm to mimic the act of waving. It didn't take long for her to get the hang of it. She laid her head back down against his shoulder and continued waving despite Owen walking back over towards his mother.

It's the anniversary of parenthood for Jay and Erin and it has become clear that their day was going to be wrapped up earlier than expected.

Jay pecked his daughter's head before carrying her up the rest of the way. She had a bath planned in the near future. And while Erin packed away slices of cake for the guests to take with them, he was upstairs filling the tub with an inch of warm water. While she walked her guests out to their cars, thanked them for attending and bidding them farewell, Jay was upstairs singing his darling girl a song as he washed the soap off her body. And when she came back in the house to clean up –or at least clean up any food or crumbs to ensure no ants come out to feast- he was dressing the baby in a diaper and then crawling into the bed to rock her to sleep in his arms.

It's their one year anniversary of being parents. And it was magnificent, -a perfect combination of chill and chaotic.

Haven's little, pink lips are parted; her dad could feel her small, warm breaths beat against his neck. He presses and holds his own lips against her dirty blonde hair. Jay's sitting up with his back against the headboard and he looks absolutely uncomfortable, but he wouldn't change positions for anything in the world. His girl, dressed in only her diaper after a nice warm bath, is fast asleep against his chest. She has her chubby little legs wrapped around his waist, resting on either side of his hips; her tiny bare feet lay flat against the comforter of the bed and his arms are wrapped protectively around the small of her back.

Jay's eyes are fluttering open and close. He's trying to fight sleep and stay awake long enough for his wife to join them. Today had been a long and eventful day. It wasn't late, the sun was still out and high in the sky, but they were all completely exhausted. He leaned his head forward, burying his face in his daughter's hair, -that baby smell was everything.

"Do you want me to put her in her crib?" Erin walked in and asked when she noticed the baby fast asleep on what appears to be an uncomfortable Jay. His neck was going to be sore tomorrow if he stayed in that position, -he didn't care.

"No," he whispered; his voice is muffled by the baby's hair. He pecks her head again before lifting his own, "No, she can stay. I want her to stay right here," Jay felt the bed dip when his wife sat down near his feet, "the year went by so fast and I want to appreciate these moments before she's either too big and won't fit in my arms or she's too old and wouldn't want to be in my arms anymore." He kisses her head again before nuzzling his face in her hair.

That fresh baby smell was the best. He tightened his hold around her and in a brief moment, she pulled her head back, groggily yawned before laying her head back down, this time facing the opposite direction. Erin crawled up beside him on the bed and the baby's head was facing outward, now in her direction. Her hand caresses her daughter's back, her hand running up and down the baby's bare skin, "She'll never be too old for hugs and kisses especially if given by her daddy; she'll always be a daddy's girl."

Jay kisses the back of his daughter's head, "I hope so…"

"Lean your head forward," Erin grabs a pillow and places it behind his head the second he followed directions, "hopefully that makes you a little more comfortable."

A beat of silence passes by and it's filled with listening to the quiet breaths of their sleeping daughter. She cuddles up to his side, leaning her head against the side of his since Haven was currently occupying his shoulder. Another beat of silence passes and Erin is now trailing her fingers up and down her daughter's bare back. Jay readjusts his head, turning it to face his wife as they lay together in the warm bedroom, "It's hard to believe that this time last year you two were fighting for your lives."

"I've had better moments," Erin chuckled softly. She didn't want to wake the baby.

"It's hard to believe that we created her," he drops one hand from the baby's back and wraps it around his wife's shoulders to pull her in closer; the other stays on Haven's back, "she came out of our love and even though she wasn't planned, she was the best surprise we've ever had. It just took one year, one year for so much to change. Just one year down, many more to go, baby." His wife didn't respond; her breaths were even and he knew without looking that she had fallen asleep.

This wasn't the ideal position to fall asleep in. It's not the ideal time to even be asleep because it only meant that the baby will be up later than planned. With Jay sitting up against the headboard, Haven nestled against his chest and Erin wrapped in his arm, fast asleep against his side, this became the perfect moment, the perfect birthday that he's pretty sure his one year old won't remember in days and years to come. It'll be something he reminds her of. It has to be.

Her first year had its ups and downs. It had its happy moments and its upsetting times, but everything happens for a reason. She came into their life for a reason. She made this one year memorable and he knew for sure that all the years, the times and the moments and memories they create together will be just as unforgettable as this one year, -her first year.


End file.
